Doofenshmirtz Round 2
by 3rd-Generation
Summary: *I do not own Phineas and Ferb* Continued from "Back from the second dimension" Doofenshmirtz has escaped with the help of his new ally. Now that Phineas is returning home the true battle for the tri-state area, and Isabella, is about to begin. Rated T for future graphic details. Rating pending as may go up.
1. Chapter 1

"So why are you doing this?"

Baljeet jumped at the sudden noise behind him. After regaining his composure he put down the screwdriver onto his small table and turned to face the man who was going to help him get what he wanted.

Baljeet and Doofenshmirtz had decided to make their base of operation inside the cave. Baljeet had made sure in the months leading up to him freeing Doofenshmirtz that the cave would have everything they needed to live. However he did not account for supplies; a fact that Doofenshmirtz never got tired of reminding him about. However Baljeet did expect the evil doctor to stay in the cave, and him as well on certain occasions, and so had beds and living quarters made just for them. However he knew they needed a plan, which is what he was currently working on.

"Why am I doing what?" Baljeet knew the question but decided to play oblivious a little. The last thing he wanted was the doctor sizing up his full intelligence so early. He wanted to have a few surprises up his sleeve.

"Why do you want Phineas Flynn dead? It better be a good reason. I, as you know, want him dead for a number of reasons. Mainly because he is the key to holding together the friends of your dimension and the only real threat to my takeover of the tri-state area. You however are different. You don't wish him dead for world conquest, Yet you are determined his death will solve your problem. So I'll ask again. Why are you doing this?" Doofenshmirtz just stood there eyeing Baljeet with his one good eye.

Baljeet fidgeted in his seat as he didn't want to reveal the true reason why he wanted his long-time friend out of the picture but he knew he couldn't lie. Baljeet eyed the clock and gave a heavy sigh when he saw it was only 6:00 pm. too early for him to claim he needed to head home to avoid suspicion. He decided to just blurt it out and see what his partner had to say.

"Because he stole my one true love from me and I have had enough of him" Baljeet left the obvious question in the air. What was Doofenshmirtz's thoughts?

"A girl? All this rage for a girl?" Doofenshmirtz started to laugh

"Of all the things to want this boy dead for you chose him because the girl he likes is the same girl you like?" Doofenshmirtz burst into laughter which caused Baljeet to start welling up with anger.

"YOU STUPID FOOL! YOU HAVE FAILED TWICE AT TAKING OVER THE TRI-STATE AREA AND HAVE FAILED IN KILLING THIS BOY AND YOU LAUGH AT ME? YOU ARE WORTHLESS! I SHOULD HAVE LEFT YOU IN THE CELL!" Baljeet regained his composer before realizing that Doofenshmirtz had stopped laughing and now had anger swelling in his eyes.

Doofenshmirtz leaned in real close, almost to the point where their noses touched, and whispered a soft threat.

"You need me and I need you. Let's put our differences aside and work together until the job is done. BUT you better be ready. Because after we kill Phineas if I even get a hint that you are going to turn on me I swear I will not hesitate to slit that little girl's throat from ear to ear. Don't cross me because I have nothing to lose and you have everything"

Doofenshmirtz stood up never letting his gaze fall from Baljeet's. He wanted the little pest to know he was serious and he truly did not fear Baljeet would ever cross him now because he had something Baljeet didn't. Leverage.

Doofenshmirtz quickly retired to his little sanctuary he created, leaving Baljeet alone to ponder his thoughts.

"I can't do anything. He has me in a bind and I fell for it the moment he asked me why. How could I be so stupid?" Baljeet dropped his head into his hands and just closed his eyes trying to clear his mind. Then it hit him.

"He needs me…He needs me those were his words. He can't fight Phineas without me and without me he has no leverage." Baljeet smiled

"We are even at the moment…But I will ensure we do not stay that way" Baljeet whispered under his breath as he went back to his work.

(West Danville)

Linda had just hung up the phone for the second time.

She was called away from dinner by the phone and before she had a chance to sit down the phone went off again.

"What was that about mom" Candace asked after swallowing her mouthful of noodles

"Well I got off the phone with the hospital and the doctor said we can pick Phineas up this weekend"

Ferb and Candace shared smile. Finally Phineas was coming home.

The Flynn-Fletcher household was told Phineas had been involved in a car accident. An out of control motorist had lost control and swerved right into the poor boy. Ferb knew this to be false as the Major had disguised it and used his connections to make the story the truth. Candace and her parents had been in total depression when they heard the news of the accident but soon felt themselves again as Phineas slowly got better.

Linda continued

"The second call was from my mom. Apparently my dad passed away last night and they want us to attend the funeral" Linda stopped and asked the silent question to everyone

"What are we going to do?"

"I think we should attend the funeral Linda honey" Lawrence stated which caused Ferb to wonder about Phineas.

"I think Candace can take care of the house and the boys till we return. I mean it wasn't her fault for what happened that crazy motorist could have struck anybody" Lawrence stopped and waited for his wife's response.

"Do you think you can handle it?" Linda asked directing the question at Candace.

"Of course mom. If I know Phineas he won't need a lot of help but I will help him when and if he needs it" Candace smiled

"Alright. I guess it's settled. Lawrence we are leaving in a few days. Candace the doctor said we can pick up Phineas from the hospital on Friday night so he can rest the weekend. I want you to find someone to drive you and go pick him up. I will arrange for Phineas to be released to your care." With that Linda began eating again as she heard the phone ring again.

"Nobody move. If it's important they will leave a message"

After dinner Ferb and Candace retired to their rooms. It was while he was lying in bed that Ferb thought of something and got up and made his way to Candace's room.

Ferb knocked and her Candace grumble as he heard her tell Stacy to hold on.

"What?" Candace asked as she opened the door

"ummmm Candace if you haven't already secured a ride to pick Phineas up I think I know who to ask" Ferb looked up to his older sister

"Well actually I was about to ask Stacy if her mom could drive us. Why who did you have in mind?"

"Well Isabella probably would like to see Phineas and her mother Vivian does know the route to and from" Ferb left the obvious question in the air.

Candace pondered what he told her before she picked up her cell phone and started talking.

"Stacy I don't need a ride anymore I found someone. Ok bye" Candace hung up and started dialing another number.

"Hello Vivian. It's Candace. I was just wondering if you could give us a ride to the hospital Friday. No we are not visiting Phineas he is being released into my care and I need a ride…Really? Thank you s much. Yes we will see you Friday" Candace hung up and smiled at Ferb.

Ferb just gave his thumbs up and walked back to his room. He picked up his cell and began texting. He first informed Buford and Baljeet of Phineas's release. Then he texted Isabella with the news and asked if she wanted to come with them on Friday.

It didn't take long for Isabella to respond with so much joy in just a text. Buford didn't respond and Ferb just imagined he was asleep. Baljeet did respond though saying how happy he was to hear the news.

(Baljeet's house)

Baljeet had just arrived home when his phone started to vibrate. When he looked at the text he saw it was from Ferb and it told him Phineas would be back home Friday night.

"He's being released already? I didn't expect this oh no what am I going to do?" Baljeet racked his brain until he realized.

"Phineas and Ferb still think I am their friend. I have all the time in the world" this was cause for celebration and so Baljeet texted Ferb back saying how happy he was. He really sold it in his mind.

"Phineas you still think I am your friend. How stupid" Baljeet laughed as he retired to bed.

The last thought to enter his mind.

"Tomorrow I start preparing…This weekend…I will be your BEST friend" Baljeet drifted off to sleep.

(Author note)

Sorry it took so long to post this story. I was really sick for most of the weekend and have suffered two losses in the family in the span of two days. I had no motivation to write. I am back however and shall attempt to update regularly.

Hope you enjoyed this first chapter. I guarantee more action to come. Also a surprising twist.


	2. Chapter 2

The next few days flew by for Baljeet as he went about his now routine life. It started with him getting up and going to school for the day. He would have to make it look like everything was normal in his life. Always having to come up with excuses not to hang out with Ferb and the gang after school and instead make his way over to his secret lab where Doofenshmirtz was constantly making new gadgets to aid them in their goal to finish of Phineas.

Although Baljeet was constantly taunted by Doofenshmirtz over the reason why he wanted to get rid of Phineas he was more interested in the gadgets the doctor was creating. Doofenshmirtz wasn't shy about some of his creations but there were a few he wouldn't even begin to explain which caused Baljeet to wonder what the doctor had up his sleeve. Pushing these thoughts aside though Baljeet got through his school day and before Ferb or anyone could ask him he took off for the lab.

(Secret lab)

"And finally we put the two ends together…weld them tight…PERFECT!" Doofenshmirtz yelled as he raised a metal contraption above his head in victory.

"What does that do" Baljeet asked wearily as he entered the cave and spied the doctor holding his creation above his head.

"This…This is just a more violent cattle prod…Delivers a shock to whomever it touches…Wanna try" Doofenshmirtz started walking towards Baljeet with the prod pointed directly at him.

Baljeet eyed the device and then brought his eyes back to meet the doctors. It became clear to Doofenshmirtz that Baljeet had no fear of his latest device…But why?

"Why isn't he afraid? Is it something I said? Did? What?" Doofenshmirtz racked his brain before just giving up and walking away. Not noticing the smile on Baljeet's face.

"I know for a fact that was not a cattle prod but I don't know what it does. However I am pretty sure that is part of the devices he doesn't want me to know about" Baljeet let his smile drop as he decided he needed to get back to work. Doofenshmirtz did not know of Phineas's return this weekend and that was Baljeet's golden opportunity. He had the whole weekend planed out.

Phineas would be getting back to his place in the evening of Friday. There was going to be a party, That Ferb and Isabella were co-ordinating. Baljeet plan was to go to the party and act like he normally would. As guests started to leave he would politely offer to help clean up the mess and would most likely get help from Ferb and perhaps Buford, he wasn't holding his breath on that though. As the cleaning was nearing an end Baljeet would sneak into Perry's base and hack into his terminal. Using the whole network to his advantage he would send every agent on a wild goose chase to another continent. That was step one.

Step two depended on his lying abilities and to get the group away from Phineas. This would be tricky. Buford would be easy, all he had to do was tell him there is a new nerd in town and Buford would be out of the way. Isabella would be difficult as would Ferb. He was still thinking of how to separate these two from Phineas.

Step three was simple. Knock Phineas unconscious with one of his creations, he was leaning towards the mind scrambler. It was created to create a dizzy feeling in the victim's head causing them to lose consciousness from inability to control anything in their body.

Baljeet didn't want to kill Phineas right out. He wanted to make him suffer but in order for that to happen all these steps had to fall into order. However Baljeet did have a backup plan.

As he looked at the clock it read 7:30 pm. He would have to leave soon to get home. Tomorrow was Thursday which meant he had tomorrow to finish his plans so he could execute them on Friday evening. Baljeet quickly went to work writing a code to bypass Perry's security and infect the whole organization.

Baljeet saw his ultimate plan coming together and he couldn't help but smile.

"That was close…if the kid ever found out what I was planning he would surely break off our deal" Doofenshmirtz sprawled out on his makeshift bed.

He had been working really hard on recreating his suit from the past battle. It was about forty five percent complete and he had a long way to go. First he was making major changes to the suits armor. When he was done it would be invulnerable to electrical blasts. That wasn't the only problem though. The power source for the suit needed to be stabilized and reinforced to make sure they would be safe. First though he needed a power source.

This caused him no end of trouble because although the suit could be finished without a power source it would be useless. He contemplated using his own body like Phineas had previously but decided against it due to the fact if he felt imminent failure he would lose completely. There had to be another power source but where. Then it hit him.

The Portal creator Baljeet worked three months on. He had said he recreated the power cells from the old suit…He could use those. The only problem now was how to get them…Then he head Baljeet leaving the cave on his trip home.

Doofenshmirtz knew it was now or never. He put the creation with the rest. He had to get those power cells without them his plan could not move forward. He set out on getting the cells out of the machine without breaking it.

"Phineas Flynn you are my motivation to do this. I will get these power cells out. I will recreate my suit. You will finally die…Then…That stupid kid will watch as I use my new creations to torture and kill this girl he thinks so highly of" Doofenshmirtz smiled at that he never intended to work with Baljeet he just wanted Phineas dead and if the kid was going to help him then he would use him for as long as he could. Then dispose of him as he was a threat.

Doofenshmirtz thought about this as he continued to try and pry open the compartment that held the power cells.

(Flynn-Fletcher household)

Candace and Ferb had just finished dinner and were putting their dishes in the sink. Ferb had retired to his room to finish any last remaining homework he couldn't finish at school.

Ferb was about half way done his homework when his phone rang. He answered almost knowing who it could be.

"Hey Ferb"

"Oh hi Baljeet…What do you need?" Ferb asked as he continued his homework

"I just want to know what time the coming home party for Phineas is on Friday? I forgot to write it down and am now a mess" Baljeet sounded genuine

"Be here around 7" Ferb then hung up and quickly dashed through the last remaining questions before deciding to retire to bed. He could hear Candace talking to Stacy in her room but he paid no heed as he got himself prepared for his rest.

Just as Ferb lad his head down his phone rang again.

"Look Baljeet I told you"

"Ferb" Isabella cut him off

"Oh hi what do you need?" Ferb asked quickly

"Just letting you know the fireside girls are going to be taking over the whole party so you don't need to stress yourself for it anymore" Isabella sounded cheery

"Ok good night" Ferb hung up and went back to sleep.

(Candace's room)

"So yeah Stacy I am so in charge this weekend. Unconditionally. I know that it's a lot of responsibility but I have been trying to get to this point in my life for so long. Nothing will go wrong I will have Phineas within my eyesight at all times. UGH Hold on Stacy the home phone is ringing" Candace got out of bed and bound down the stairs.

"Hello" Candace picked up on the last ring

"Hello, this is party catering. I was just calling to confirm the date of Phineas Flynn's arrival home. We had a mix up with our files and now we need to reconfirm with almost everyone. So if I could please get the date and time we would need to be there" The voice sounded familiar but Candace couldn't put her finger on it

"What catering? I didn't order any" Candace countered trying to buy time to figure out the voice.

"We were contacted by a Mr. Fletcher…is that correct"

"Yes…Probably Ferb…He's asleep right now." Candace contemplated but finally gave in

"The party is this Friday you need to be here before 6:30 otherwise everything will go down the drain"

"Ok thank you miss. We will be there at the allotted time. Thank you for your cooperation" then the line went dead

(Doofenshmirtz)

"THAT LITTLE KID KEPT IT FROM ME! HE HAS TO KNOW PHINEAS IS RETURNING THIS FRIDAY HE JUST HAS TO! WELL IF HE IS STEPPING UP HIS TIMELINE THEN SO AM I!" Doofenshmirtz gave up temporarily on getting the power cells and returned to the suit.

"That kid is going to go through with his plan without me so I am considering this partnership through. I have two days to repair this suit properly and get those cells. I can do it and I will" Doofenshmirtz began working faster than he ever had before.

This is not the end this is only the beginning.

As darkness descended on Danville one thought ran through the minds of Phineas, his friends and his greatest rivals.

"Friday….The day Phineas returns home…The day everything changes"

(Author note)

Sorry about the late update. I am currently in the process of moving into a bigger room and am finding it hard to sit down with so much work to do. Action starts picking up in the next chapter and find out why Perry and the agents are doing nothing to stop Doofenshmirtz.

Prepare for the next chapter will be up really soon.


	3. Chapter 3

Another slow day in Danville but a cause for celebration filled the air. Danville school was abuzz with the news of Phineas's return home the next evening. Everyone was chatting and planning what to bring and what they would talk to Phineas about. Danville Jr. High was pulsating with energy.

Not everyone was happy though. Doofenshmirtz was working frantically trying to finish his suit and all the other tools he would need. He did eventually get the power cells after destroying the whole machine and then hiding the evidence. Yet he had to make sure Baljeet suspected nothing in order for his plans to work. Yet every chance he had he would make the most of it since he had little over 24 hrs. to complete everything.

(Perry's secret base)

Perry sauntered in with a smile on his face. The good Doofenshmirtz, after everything that happened those months ago, had taken his daughter on vacation and thus allowed Perry some time off. Perry didn't even have his communicator on since he left it in the lair right before he started his own personal vacation. The screen flashed on.

"AGENT P. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" the Major more or less demanded an answer.

Perry hand gestured about his vacation to which the Major did not look impressed.

"Agent P. sorry about that outbreak. Why didn't you have your communicator on?" Perry went to motion but the Major cut him off. "Right! vacation. Look Agent P. we have a situation. Doofenshmirtz has escaped and we believe he has anew accomplice who is helping him. We do not know who or where they are but we are almost certain that they will try to strike some time in the next few days. When Phineas returns home and is still weak. Agent P. we need you to be especially cautious the next little while, while we attempt to track him down"

The major looked around before continuing

"As you know most of our agents are on other missions that require their attention but the few agents we do have are scouring the area looking for any signs of Doofenshmirtz. Agent P. your mission is to protect Phineas Flynn. Secondary objective is to protect everyone else but your primary objective should be Phineas. Agent P. we are counting on you. Monogram out"

The screen flashed to black and Perry did a quick salute before returning to his back yard.

In all honesty Perry was terrified for everyone's sake. Doofenshmirtz would most likely go after Phineas but Perry had no doubt that, if given the chance, Doofenshmirtz would take out Buford, Baljeet, Isabella and Ferb and who knows who else. Perry knew he only had a small window of opportunity to set up a defensive perimeter around his house. It wouldn't be the best but it would alert him to Doofenshmirtz.

With that in mind Perry went to work.

(Danville Jr. High)

The bell rung and kids started storming out, many going to ask their parents to go to the party tomorrow. Baljeet quickly grabbed his bike and was about to set off when someone grabbed him from behind.

"Where do you think you're going nerd?"

Baljeet knew who it was. He also knew if he didn't make a good excuse he wouldn't be able to get back to his cave and make the final preparations for tomorrow.

"Buford let me go I really have to leave" Baljeet began to struggle.

"Not till you tell me where you're going" Buford set Baljeet down but kept a tight grasp of his collar.

"Buford what are you doing?" Isabella called as she and Ferb approached.

"The nerd here was trying to get away on his bike like he's been doing for the past while. I wanna know where he has to go that is so important" all eyes settled on Baljeet.

"Yeah Baljeet. You never want to stay and help us with anything anymore. What's up?" Isabella asked eyeing Baljeet.

"I have to get home and finish my homework. I want everything done so I can attend the party tomorrow" Baljeet looked from face to face trying to look genuine.

"Baljeet common. Help us just set up a few things and you can get your homework done later. Please" Isabella got puffy eyed hoping it would convince him to join the group again.

"Sorry but I really have to go. Buford please release me" Baljeet stated in a monotone fashion.

Buford didn't know what to do. He looked at Isabella who was in a state of shock or something so she wasn't any help. When he looked at Ferb he just saw him nod his head. With that Buford let Baljeet go.

"Thank you" Baljeet then jumped on his bike and took off.

"So Isabella, why the shocked face?" Buford asked as he and Ferb turned their attention towards her. She only stuttered before regaining her composer.

"Sorry guys. Normally when I ask Baljeet to help with any task he jumps for joy and attempts to get close to me. Just now he didn't even flinch when he refused. I don't know I feel something is wrong. That is not the Baljeet we know" Isabella trailed off

Buford and Ferb exchanged glances before deciding to head home and make a few minor adjustments from the fire side girls set up. Buford had to carry Isabella most of the way because she got lost in deep thought trying to figure out what had happened to Baljeet.

She had regained herself by the time they entered the backyard. They were greeted by Perry sitting down with a serious look on his face. They knew something was up so they hurried over.

Before anything happened though Ferb texted Baljeet to meet them in his backyard later. Perry was going to reveal something and they would have to brief him on it later. With that done the kids sat down.

(Doofenshmirtz cave)

Baljeet arrived just before six, which upset him because he really needed to work, but he needed to make sure he wasn't followed so he had to take a detour. He had heard his phone go off but decided not to answer it till he checked in on Doofenshmirtz.

Ashe approached the door to Doofenshmirtz's room he noticed the space in the cave felt empty. He couldn't figure out why but quickly dismissed the thought. He had reached the door and went to turn the handle when he realized he couldn't…Doofenshmirtz had locked the door. Baljeet was confused so he knocked and got silence as a response. He knocked again louder but still no answer. Baljeet was now upset but decided to go about his work, lord knew he had a lot of it, but then remembered his cellphone. As he sat down and began to work he flipped it open and started reading through the message he had received. He would read a few words then go back to welding then read a few more. This went on for a good 10 minutes before he had finished.

Baljeet dropped the Welder and ran to Doofenshmirtz room slamming his fists on the door.

"DOOF! DOOF! DOOF! GET OUT HERE NOW! WE HAVE A SERIOUS PROBLEM! I GOT A TEXT SAYING PERRY THE PLATYPUS IS DISCUSSING SOMETHING OF IMPORTANCE WITH THE GROUP AND THEY WANT TO DEBREIF ME LATER. THEY KNOW YOU'VE ESCAPED AND THEY MIGHT PINPOINT ME AS AN ACCOMPLICE" Baljeet barely noticed the door open when a hand shot out and grabbed him.

"YOU STUPID KID! CALM DOWN! EVEN IF THEY KNOW I HAVE ESCAPED THERE IS NO EVIDENCE OF YOU HELPING ME. NOW CALM DOWN" Doofenshmirtz dropped the kid to the ground rather harshly.

"This could destroy our plans…what are we going to do now?" Baljeet got up and dusted himself off

"What do you mean "we"?" Doofenshmirtz asked as he eyed Baljeet

"I mean what are we going to do now?" Baljeet wasn't in the mood for this

"Well for starters we can be honest with each other" Baljeet got a worried look "Tell me why you kept it to yourself that Phineas Flynn is to return home tomorrow?" Doof just sat there

"I…I…ummmm" Baljeet couldn't think of an answer. This caused Doofenshmirtz to smile when he saw he had the boy right where he wanted him.

"Let me guess…You thought you could do this without me…cut me out and do it all alone. Am I right?" Doofenshmirtz had gotten up and stated walking around the room.

"Nooooo" Baljeet dragged the word on trying to think of something

"YOU LIAR!" Doofenshmirtz had gotten to close and grabbed Baljeet and threw him against the wall.

Baljeet couldn't believe the power this man possessed with his sheer strength alone. Baljeet was suffering from lack of breath and a headache after being tossed into the wall but his troubles weren't over. Doofenshmirtz still had his hand on the collar of Baljeet's shirt and was using it to hold him against the wall and in the air. Baljeet couldn't even struggle.

"TELL ME!" Doof got in real close. Close enough to show Baljeet he better not screw him one more time.

Baljeet gulped hard before realizing he had absolutely no leverage at this precise moment. He had to relent.

"I did think I could do it alone. I'm sorry please forgive me" Baljeet slumped to the floor as he was let go

"I forgive you. Just don't do it again" Doofenshmirtz said as he retired to his desk

Baljeet out of pure shock at the doctor's words did not question him but made a hasty retreat to exit the cave. His work was far from finished but he would just call in sick to school and then sneak out to finish whatever he needed to do. He decided to go to the Flynn-Fletcher house in order to avoid suspicion. With that he took off, leaving Doofenshmirtz alone.

"You really are a stupid kid. You should know that I don't forgive people. I will continue to help you but only until your usefulness has reached its end. Count your days wisely as you have but very few left" Doofenshmirtz smiled as he returned to work

(Flynn-Fletcher backyard)

Baljeet came through the gate and noticed no one was there. Was he too late? Did they suspect him and already set an ambush? Baljeet began to panic. As he was about to just leave and pretend he never came over a secret panel in the tree opened and Ferb stepped out. He motioned for Baljeet to follow and Baljeet complied.

It was a quick ride to the floor of the base and Baljeet soon found himself in front of the huge screen with the major looking down on the kids.

"Baljeet glad you could make it. I finished explaining what we know to the kids but will give you the gist of it. They will fill you in later" Monogram cleared his throat.

"The evil doctor Doofenshmirtz has escaped. We believe he now has the help of one or more persons who are just as smart, if not smarter, than him. We suspect he will strike in the next few days when Phineas is home. We need you all to help us protect Phineas and defeat this maniac. That is the gist of what we are dealing with. Ferb I leave the rest in your hands. Monogram out" the screen flashed black

"So what is the plan?" Baljeet asked

"We are going to keep an eye on Phineas tomorrow. One of us will always have him in our sites and if we see anything suspicious than we make out move but we do it discreetly. We don't want to alarm everyone. Also Perry has set up security around the house so we will know if Doofenshmirtz appears" Isabella stopped for a breath

"How does this security detect Doofenshmirtz?" Baljeet asked for obvious reasons

"Simple, you see Doofenshmirtz has so much hate in him that the sensors pick up on and then send a signal back to our com links. Oh before I forget here is yours" Isabella handed over a wrist communicator which Baljeet put on quickly. "These will go off if there is a particularly high level of hate in the atmosphere of the party and tell us who has it. We then remove them without incident. Oh but the security system won't be up till tomorrow night" Isabella finished and looked to see if Baljeet had any questions

"Alright thank you. I will see you all back here tomorrow night" Baljeet turned to leave "Now if you'll excuse me I must really be getting home for supper" Bajeet reached the elevator before Ferb called out

"We will also need your help cleaning tomorrow" Baljeet just smiled and nodded before jumping in the elevator. His smile continued the whole ride up. Not because he was happy to help but because he now knew of his way into and out of the secret lab as well as already had his excuse to stay later and sneak in.

Tomorrow was going to be a good day. Baljeet hurried home and quickly ate before retiring to bed.

Everyone laid their heads down and fell asleep. Everyone but one.

Perry would stay alert all night. Even if Phineas wasn't home there was no assurance that Doofenshmirtz would not attack. Perry would stay awake and protect the house all night if he had to.

(Paris)

"What is it dad?"

"I don't know…I got the feeling that we might need to head home soon"


	4. Chapter 4

It was finally Friday and everyone was busy getting everything ready. Whether it was Ferb finishing up on the welcome home cake. Isabella finally trying on her last dress before having to spend hours picking out the right one. Perry finishing all preparations on the security and defence systems or Baljeet finishing everything he could to make the night go off without a hitch.

Baljeet had awoken to the early morning sunrise and left a note for his parents that he would be over at the Flynn-Fletcher house. He actually made a mad dash for his hideout to get an early start on getting everything finished on time. As he was working he kept replaying what was going to happen in his mind.

The party would go off without a hitch. Baljeet had found a way around the security sensors by inputting a new code into his wrist com that would in turn affect all communicators leaving him to blend in with the crowd. This solution however did not help Doofenshmirtz who would easily be picked up the moment he got near the house. What Baljeet also had to count on was that the code he wrote was compatible with the security system Perry used, because if it wasn't than he would set it off faster than he could count to three.

However in his mind everything would pan out. He would sneak into the base and implant the code. Perry would be called away on an "emergency" leaving the house with no real defence. This is when he would invite Phineas to sit down so he could apologize for how he acted all those months prior. As everyone finished cleaning Baljeet would then use his mind scrambler on Phineas and get him out of their as fast as he could.

However in case someone saw him he also had a backup plan. His final creation would create a psionic force field around them so he could escape without harm. The only draw-back was that if he had to hold the device and Phineas he would move really slow. To fix that he had Doofenshmirtz agree to meet him out front with a car so they could make a hasty get-a-way. Baljeet didn't like that his whole plan basically depended on Doofenshmirtz.

While Baljeet couldn't feel worse about his plan depending on Doofenshmirtz, The evil Doofenshmirtz could not be more thrilled. Since he could not finish the suit on time he needed a new plan. Since he was in charge of the car he thought he would customize it to his liking. He had a cage placed in the back with hand and leg restraints to the persons who were going to occupy that space. He was going mad thinking about how everything was falling apart but also falling right into his lap. He couldn't be happier.

The lair was filled with laughter on both sides as both men kept replaying their ultimate victory in their heads.

(Later that evening)

It was finally 5:30 and Vivian, Candace, Ferb and Isabella piled into the car to go pick up Phineas. Linda had called ahead and told the hospital that Phineas was being released into the care of Candace due to the unfortunate passing in the family. It took a while but she finally convinced them that this was the only way. Candace was over joyed when she heard the news, More so because Phineas would actually be home then her being that responsible. She felt more pride in herself that day then she had all the days she had been in charge.

Nobody really spoke throughout the car ride because nobody knew what to say. Vivian just concentrated on driving while Ferb read a book with his headphones on. Isabella and Candace just sat silent.

Finally after fifteen long minutes Candace broke the silence.

"So Isabella, are you excited about Phineas returning home?" Candace mentally punched herself for asking the most stupid question. Of course Isabella was excited.

"So excited. Soon it will be like old times before ay of this ever happened. Phineas will get back into the inventing spirit and we will have grand adventures all summer long" Isabella got all puffy eyed as she thought of the olden days

"Just be happy Ferb still holds that seat on the city council and was able to get everyone an extra few days off school to enjoy Phineas's homecoming" Candace pointed out

"I've thanked him almost a thousand times already. I almost thanked him enough to get my "Stop saying that" patch" Isabella held up the patch that was so close to being sewed onto her sash.

After that Candace and Isabella talked about nothing really. Isabella turned the conversation to Phineas and Candace tried to keep it manageable for her tastes. Just as Isabella was about to start a whole new sentence regarding Phineas, everyone felt the car drift gently to a stop.

"Ok kids you wait in the car while me and Candace go pick up Phineas" Vivian said as she and Candace undid their seat belts.

"But mom I really want to see Phineas" Isabella pleaded

"You will Isa, you will. We just need to do some grown up stuff and it will be faster this way. I promise you will see Phineas soon" Vivian finished her sentence before she took off with Candace hot in tow.

Isabella sighed and put her head against the window watching the door. Ferb had removed his headphones but was still reading his book. Silence engulfed the two friends as they waited patiently for Phineas to get out.

(Flynn-Fletcher house)

Perry had set up the security and had Buford managing guests as they arrived. Keeping them away from Perry so his cover wouldn't be blown. Just as Perry was closing the door to his liar he heard the unmistakeable sound of his and Buford's wrist com going off. Perry began to panic not knowing what he was going to do without everyone's help. Then just as quickly as it went off the coms went silent signalling all clear. As confused as Perry was he knew his device was working and went about the party waiting for his master.

(A few moments earlier)

Baljeet was walking down the street with his wrist com on and making his way towards the party house. He was so happy everything was set and ready to go. Just as he got within thirty yards of the house his wrist communicator went off. It took him a few seconds to realize it was him who had set it off. That could only mean that his code was not working and this was not a good sign. If his wrist communicator code didn't work then how was his over-ride code for Perry's main computer supposed to work? He started frantically fiddling with his device trying to get the code to disable the security systems.

Baljeet was about to turn and run when he thought of something. He quickly started manually entering code. His fingers were moving so fast he hoped he wouldn't screw this up. Thankfully after a few moments though he heard the sound he wanted to hear…Silence. It took a few seconds but he realized his code would only work if it was put into Perry's language…Platypus. Although he averted this crises he now knew when he broke into the lair later he would have to use precious time entering the new line of code he knew he now needed to completer his task. He would figure this all out later though because all he needed to do now was be calm for the rest of the evening.

(Flynn-Fletcher Backyard)

Baljeet entered the backyard, after he and Buford exchanged a quick word about the coms going off a few seconds earlier. Baljeet feigned shock that he thought Doofenshmirtz was already here.

Baljeet however was just glad he figured out everything but now had to contend with the guests and be happy the rest of the evening. This was going to be a long night.

(One hour later)

Phineas and friends pulled into the driveway and everyone gathered round to see Phineas for the first time in 3 months. This was the time when Candace would shine though as she stated moving everyone back so Phineas could breathe when he emerged. Ferb emerged first to help Candace keep the kids at bay. Out came Isabella and she was soon followed by Phineas. He still wasn't used to walking without crutches so he used Isabella to help hold himself up. They slowly made their way to the bench they now had in the middle of the backyard, it was sow going cause even though Ferb and Candace kept pushing people back they didn't give a lot of ground.

Phineas let out a small sigh as he finally sat down on the bench. He didn't even get to thank Isabella before everyone started throwing out questions at him. After a few seconds Isabella took charge as she saw Phineas was overwhelmed.

"OKAY EVERYONE SETTLE DOWN!" Isabella screamed and evidently shut everyone up at the same time.

"Phineas will address everyone right now. I don't want any questions while he is talking" Isabella eyed the crowd to show she was serious.

Phineas couldn't get up so he started his address from his seated position.

"Thank you everyone. I couldn't have asked for a better party with better friends. All those months in the hospital not being able to see my friends, Family, Buford and my girlfriend" Isabella smiled at that. "Now that I am back though I can assure you that I will be getting back into my old routines as soon as I can. Now let's enjoy this party" Everyone cheered and went about the party.

For the first hour of the party Isabella was shoved away from Phineas as groups of people gathered round with their questions. Buford was tending to drinks while Ferb kept the music going. Isabella noticed Baljeet walking all over the place with no set destination and she was about to call him on it when she noticed the group getting smaller. With this she slowly made her way back to sit beside Phineas.

Although fun for most of the guests, save one, it was soon time for everyone to depart. Isabella and Phineas stuck to the bench and Buford, Perry and Baljeet began the cleanup. Perry and Buford had to spend a lot of time near the side of the house because somehow an insane amount of garbage had accumulated. They were distracted that they didn't notice anything else happening around them.

Baljeet was pleased that no one had noticed him moving around the party dumping his garbage right by the side of the house to keep those two out of the back yard. As much as it made him madder he also had to thank Isabella and Phineas for keeping each other busy. Baljeet knew now was his chance and he slowly made his way next to the tree. He calculated he would have about 3 minutes to get everything done before they were able to figure out who was messing with the computer. Three minutes…he could do it…He pushed the button and the tree opened up.

Baljeet landed in Perry's seat right in front of the big screen computer. Instantly Baljeet went about inputting the code into the computer. He plugged in his USB and started the download. As the code was downloading he frantically started typing in his Perry translator so the code would be readable by the computer. He didn't even look up as he heard the computer beginning its security lock down. He just typed faster.

Baljeet realized just how close he was cutting it when he realized he had already spent over two minutes and it wasn't finished yet. He started manually entering the end of the code since it would be faster than waiting for the computer to download it. His hands were flying and he knew he had maybe twelve seconds but he was going to make it. He started counting down in his head.

12…11…10…9…8…7..6. He did it. The computers security field turned off and Baljeet had full control. He was going to pull this off. First thing he did was disable those hate detectors surrounding the building so Doofenshmirtz could get close without anyone knowing. Next he started writing out Perry's new mission that would take him quite the distance away. He sent the same message to all available agents not already in the field as this would minimize the retaliation they could do against him once they figured out it was a trick.

It took Baljeet about five minutes to finish everything before he went back through the tube. He used his cell phone to signal Doofenshmirtz to come pick him and Phineas up as he made his way to the front yard. He threw his devices behind the front bush right before he arrived so he would have them close without arousing suspicion.

Isabella and Phineas had been completely clueless and Buford was now the only one at the side of the house.

"Hey Buford where's Perry?" Baljeet asked

"I dunno. His wrist thing started blinking and after looking at it he took off" Buford shrugged "Wanna help me? There a lot of garbage"

"Give me just a second I need to grab something" Baljeet went to walk away

"What do you need?" Baljeet whirled around to see Phineas, supported by Isabella standing right behind him

"I just dropped something on my way in excuse me" Baljeet again went to walk away when he heard the car horn out front. It was too late Doofenshmirtz was already here. Baljeet then got a brilliant idea

"That's my parents. Here I'll take Phineas I bet they would like to say hi" Baljeet pushed Isabella away and he took on Phineas's whole weight. He soon found out though he was still too weak so Isabella helped carry Phineas to the front yard.

"What is this? I thought it was going to be you and Phineas" Doofenshmirtz said as the gate swung open and he was standing over the children.

"What?" Phineas asked confused

"I guess it couldn't be helped" Doofenshmirtz pulled one of his inventions

"This little guy will knock anyone out cold. It has the uncanny ability to both shock your heard and deliver a force of 3G's to your head. You'll be out before you hit the ground" Doofenshmirtz smiled.

"Let's test it" Doofenshmirtz moved in on the group and Baljeet broke away. It was too late. Doofenshmirtz had kicked Buford down and shoved the device right into Baljeet's chest. A loud bang and Baljeet hit the floor. Barely breathing.

"Your turn" Doof said as he moved in on Phineas

"NO! YOU ARE NOT GOING TO HURT HIM ANYMORE! DON'T TOUCH HIM" Isabella stood her ground.

Buford was in shock on the ground after seeing what the device could do. He felt helpless.

Doofenshmirtz just smiled as Isabella

"I wasn't planning on touching Phineas" Doof made a quick sweeping motion with his foot and Phineas collapsed to the ground. Before Isabella had time to react though The device was already against her chest. A loud bang later and she was laid out beside Baljeet. Both barely breathing and both unconscious.

Buford still unable to move could only watch as Doofenshmirtz loaded his two friends into the back of his minivan, seemingly tying them up or something, before hoping in the vehicle and leaving.

Phineas had crawled a few feet before it became too much for him and he collapsed on the grass. Crying and reaching out for Isabella.

Where was Ferb? He was inside putting the last of the food away when he heard the first band. He instinctively called the cops and before he got to the door he heard a second bang. He barely noticed the minivan speed off as he raced for Phineas still crying into the grass.

"Phineas what happened?" Ferb picked up his brother

"FERB…Doofenshmirtz got her…He got her and Baljeet" Phineas broke down again and Ferb knew there was nothing he could say or do to comfort his brother.

For ten minutes they waited for the cops to show. When they finally did Phineas had said it was a false alarm. A quick explanation that it was fireworks and the cops were on their way. Ferb gave a questioning look.

Phineas just looked into space.

"I'm gonna kill him" was all he said

(Aboard Danville flight 298)

"Attention passengers we will be landing in approximately 20 minutes. Please fasten your seat belts"

"What's going on"

"They are going to need my help"


	5. Chapter 5

Baljeet was the first to wake up and although he opened his eyes he realized he couldn't see. He wasn't blind or blind folded he was merely in a pitch black room. He tried to move his hands to feel for the wall but found them and his feet bound behind his back. He started trying to remember what had happened when he heard a noisy exhale of air to his right.

"Who's there? Hello?" Baljeet called and was greeted with another deep breath.

That's when he remembered. Doofenshmirtz had shocked him with one of his devices. After that everything went dark.

"Hello?...is someone their?" A voice cut through the darkness and Baljeet knew immediately who it was

"Isabella? Is that you?" Baljeet called

"Yeah…Yeah it's me….What happened?"

"I don't remember" Baljeet lied.

"Baljeet I'm scared" Isabella started trying to move but found her hands and feet bound as well

"Don't be. I'll get us out of here" Baljeet affirmed her. As long as Doofenshmirtz didn't blow his cover before he shocked her.

Before the two could talk further the dark space was flooded with light. They took their first look around the small room.

To Baljeet's surprise the room was a lot smaller then he had thought but it was also well put together. The walls were padded to reduce risk of injury, or possible escape. Also there was only one door. It was in the middle of one wall and it had a peep hole that seemed to face inward. So someone outside could peer in and they would have no idea.

Baljeet quickly looked over at Isabella, more directly he stared at her hands and feet. He hung his head when he saw what she was bound with. She was bound with a nylon chain that connected from the wrists of her hands to her ankles. He could only assume he was bound with the very same thing and that meant escape was almost impossible. The door swung open and they stared in shock.

"Welcome..TO HELL"

(Flynn-Fletcher backyard)

"Phineas where are you going" Ferb called as he watched helplessly as Phineas forced himself to walk through the back yard.

Phineas paid no heed to Ferb or his question he only wanted one thing. Revenge. He was tired of Doofenshmirtz's interference. Phineas reached the tree and opened the secret panel and in a fraction of a second he disappeared down the tube. Ferb went to follow but then remembered something he should do first so he told Buford to follow and make sure Phineas didn't do anything too hasty. With that Ferb ran for the house.

When Buford emerged from the tube he was somewhat amazed that Phineas had already cracked through Perry's security and contacted the Major personally. The conversation looked heated.

"FOR THE LAST TIME NO! WE CANNOT DIVERT MAN POWER WHILE WE HAVE MORE PRESSING MATTERS. I am truly sorry Phineas but there is nothing we can do."

"Why not? I mean you have more animals in your organization than any other place yet you can't lend me a few to look for Doofenshmirtz?" Phineas pleaded

"No, See we received a security alert that Doofenshmirtz is attempting to build another other-dimensionator out in the desert and we had to send Perry and all the other animals we had to check this out. We are hoping it is a false alarm but we cannot be too cautious" The major finished

"Wait? When did you receive this information? By who?" Phineas pressed

"That is classified information and I cannot discuss this"

"But I am a temp for the agency so shouldn't I be allowed access to information regarding Doofenshmirtz" Phineas smiled as he saw the Major realize he was right

"It was an undefined source. But it came from a company computer and they are guarded with the latest in security so we believe the information to be credible. Other than that we have no idea who gave us this tip" Major M looked dwn

Phineas thought about what the Major said and quickly came to a conclusion

"Major I need to access the code of the security system used to protect the agencies computers" Phineas looked determined

"Why? What could you possibly…Do you think we have a rouge agent?" Major M looked at Phineas with obvious anger in his eyes for the accusation.

"I am not saying that I just wish to see if anyone has tampered with the code in any way. The littlest change could point to the real culprit" Phineas was no longer in the mood for games and so stared the major down

"Fine. Take a look and report right back" Major M logged off giving Phineas access to the security codes.

Phineas sat down and began typing.

"You can come out now Buford" Phineas called without looking up

Buford crept forward until he was right behind Phineas. No words were spoken he just watched as Phineas scanned lines of code that Buford could barely understand.

Phineas decided to scan for recent code to see what he could find. It took all of two seconds for him to locate the code that was inputted to bypass security. Phineas was proud he found the code but the problem was that he recognized most of the code, except for a small line at the top, it was a brand new piece of code he never saw before. He lost even more of his new determination when he realized the code didn't give away who designed it, which most code did in some way or the other, which meant whoever did this was really smart.

Phineas went to see if there was an outlet he could attach something and retrieve the code. That's when he saw it.

There was a USB still jammed into the port where he was planning to plug in his own to get a copy of the code to decode if you will.

The screen flashed on and Phineas quickly withdrew the device and placed it in his pocket.

"Anything to report?" Major M asked

"No sir. The code is solid. The perpetrator must have hacked in some other way" Phineas tried to look innocent

"Alright, I we'll have our tech Carl look into it first thing Monday morning. Until then I want you all to stay in your house until we figure this out. That is an order" Major M looked to Phineas and Buford too which the boys nodded.

"Monogram out" the screen flashed off

"So dinner bell why didn't you tell him the truth?" Buford asked blocking any exit Phineas had

"Simple Buford. I am going to find out who this belongs too and then make them spill where Doofenshmirtz ra off too" Phineas stood up

"If you want to stop me then do it but I won't leave Isabella alone with that freak" Phineas realized he couldn't intimidate Buford as he was struggling to stand on his own

Buford let out a laugh

"Dinner bell I understand. I'm behind you all the way. Just dn't do anything stupid without me" Buford eyed Phineas

"I promise Buford"

"Or me" Ferb emerged from the darkness

"I promise I won't act without you guys. Now if you'll excuse me I need to get to work finding out who this belongs too" Phineas started walking and then lost his balance.

Luckily Buford caught him

"How bout we all help you do that?" Buford, now aided by Ferb, carried Phineas to the tube to get them into the back yard.

"I'm coming Isabella" Phineas whispered as he landed on the grass of the backyard.

(Doofenshmirtz lair)

"SO WHICH OF YOU WANTS IT FIRST?" Doofenshmirtz taunted the pair as he approached with his little prod

"Maybe you" He advanced on Isabella who started crying and begging him not too

"STOP IT YOU MONSTER!" Baljeet yelled at Doofenshmirtz who whirled around at the comment.

"What did you say?" Doofenshmirtz asked as he advanced on Baljeet

"you heard me…leave…leave her alone" Baljeet regretted what he said now

Doofenshmirtz's hand shot down and grabbed the hem of his shirt and threw him into the wall. Baljeet opened his eyes slowly since the impact hurt him a little. As his eyes fluttered open he saw something he was praying was a nightmarish illusion.

Doofenshmirtz had placed the prod mere centimetres from his face and there was nothing he could do since he was still bound.

"Heh I have a better idea. You're coming with me" Baljeet let out a small gasp as he was quickly pulled off the wall and towards the door. Baljeet tried to dig his heels into the ground but Doofenshmirtz was holding him in the air and he couldn't reach the ground.

"BALJEET!" Isabella called

"Don't worry I'll be ok…I'll come back to you" Baljeet called back before the door slammed shut.

"Baljeet" Isabella felt a tear escape her eyes as she was once again left alone…And soon plunged into darkness again.

(Outside the door)

"You are one courageous little boy you know that right?" Doofenshmirtz put Baljeet down

"At that range had this prod been charged you would have been killed. That is why I aim for the chest" Doofenshmirtz sat down.

"What? Huh?" Baljeet was confused

"Oh boy you are slow. See this way that girl will believe you had nothing to do with what happened. You are in the ultimate position and you don't realize it" Doofenshmirtz leaned back and took a sip of water

"Can I have some of that? Also could you untie me? It's not like she can hear us right?"

"Can't, sorry. It is more real this way" Doofenshmirtz then leaned his chair back down and looked Baljeet in the face

"Unless you give me the code to hack into the agencies computers" Doofenshmirtz looked Baljeet dead in the eye

Baljeet's eyes widened when he thought of the USB device…He had left it in Perry's computer. He mentally kicked himself for making such a stupid move. Baljeet then realized what he could do. He could incriminate Doofenshmirtz and be the hero in the end. He could still get Isabella.

"I don't have it…I left it in the computer" Baljeet winced as Doofenshmirtz kicked him to the ground

"WHERE?"

"Perry's lab…Back yard….Phineas…Under tree" Baljeet squeezed out as Doofenshmirtz started choking him out with his foot.

Doofenshmirtz released his hold on Baljeet

"Alright. I hope you are telling the truth otherwise you will have doomed you and your pretty little girl in their" Doofenshmirtz picked Baljeet up and walked back to the cell.

The door opened and Baljeet screamed as he was thrown in. Baljeet landed face first into the dirt but that still didn't soften the fall.

"See you kids later" Doofenshmirtz closed and locked the cell

"Baljeet? Are you ok?" Isabella asked from her corner

"Yes I'm fine…I think my nose is broken but that is alright. I think I found a way out…we just need to be patient" Baljeet squirmed into a sitting position

"Patience….Ok if you say so…Thanks Baljeet for earlier" Isabella praised

"You're welcome" Baljeet smiled wickedly. His plans were still moving forward even though he was stuck in this cell.

Isabella will soon be his

(Center of town)

"Ahhhhh their it is"

"What's that?"

"This is just what we need to find a mad man…Let's go"

"Where too dad?"

"We need Perry the Platypus"


	6. Chapter 6

"What are you doing Dinnerbell?" Buford asked as he leaned in between the brothers to get a better view of the screen.

"We are going to focus on the contents of the USB. The code to start and see if there was anything we missed. After that if the code reveals nothing we will then check out any other content that may have been placed on the device. With both our knowledge's working together we are bound to find some small clue as to who owned this" Phineas went back to looking through the various lines of code.

"Ferb have you found out anything about that mysterious line of code?" Phineas didn't take his eyes off the screen

"It appears to be a translator. Although I still don't know what its purpose was" Ferb scratched his head

"What do you mean translator?" Buford walked over to Ferb.

"It changes the code to a different language to be read by different computer systems. However it does not appear to be changing the code into another language. I just don't understand" Ferb felt awkward speaking so much in such a little time.

"What if it wasn't for a human language?" Phineas and Ferb turned and looked to Buford

"What if all the computers are programmed for animals…wouldn't the language of this stuff have to be in that animal's language?" Buford didn't realize what he'd done

Phineas and Ferb looked at each other and their eyes lightened up when it clicked that Buford was exactly right. The code would need to be read in the language of the animal who owned the computer. That is probably another security fail safe. If any code is added in English or any other language the agency would know.

Whoever wrote this little line of code had to have been really smart. But who?

The USB contained little else except for designs for a few machines. One was highlighted and bold printed as if it was of the utmost importance. "The Mind Scrambler" after reading it effects on the human body Phineas and Ferb came to the same conclusion. Doofenshmirtz must have invented it. It was far too evil for anyone else to have even thought about it.

Now came the hard part. They had to figure out where Doofenshmirtz might have taken their two friends.

(Flynn-Fletcher backyard)

The yard was quiet. A gentle breeze stroked the trees causing the leaves to rustle. Candace had finished cleaning up the back yard. Ferb had rushed in earlier and told her that him, Buford and Phineas had some important business to do and they might be in and out of the house. She trusted Ferb and Phineas and assumed Buford was good protection so she agreed that they could go about their business.

Candace entered through the back yard door and closed it. After locking the door she flipped the switch and the whole back yard was bathed in darkness. That's when the bush by the front gate moved.

Doofenshmirtz stumbled out of the bush picking stray leaves and twigs out of his jacket. He was so close to just jumping out of the bush and knocking the girl unconscious that he didn't even break a smile while thinking about it. Although he would have loved to do that he was here on business and it would have been very inconvenient if the kids were to surprise him while he was trying to get the USB. He stumbled over to the tree and started looking around.

"There's nothing here…That boy lied to me" Doofenshmirtz punched the tree and then heard a door slid open. Afraid it was the back door he hid behind the tree and punched himself for making the noise. That is until he noticed nobody was in the back yard. He peeked around the tree and to his shock he had been scared off by the secret door opening. He quietly laughed as he entered the door and then let out a small scream as the floor opened up and he fell straight down.

A few turns and bumps later Doofenshmirtz finally exited the tube and landed in a small chair. The chair brought him straight to the main computer and Doofenshmirtz eagerly began looking for the USB port. When he found it his face fell. It was gone and that could only mean one of two things. Baljeet lied about leaving it there or someone had found it…but who?

"Chatter" Doofenshmirtz spun around and was once again face to face with Perry the platypus.

"Well, well if it isn't Perry the platypus. I guess you couldn't find me with those directions you received could you? Of course not but how could you? They were false" Doofenshmirtz began to laugh as he started walking around the little lair

"You know Perry I always wanted another Plati-borg but just couldn't bear to have it lose such a humiliating fight. Now what I really want is just to become friends with everyone. See this wasn't even my idea to get rid of Phineas…but I know who it was" Doofenshmirtz gave Perry a look that told him that there was truth to what he was saying.

Perry let his guard down to rethink what the doctor just said. Perry was deep in thought he didn't even notice the doctor grab a lead pipe lying on the ground.

Perry just rubbed his head as Doofenshmirtz attacked him again. The first strike caught Perry right on the head and came from out of nowhere. But that was the last strike Doofenshmirtz was going to make. Perry jumped out of the way of the incoming attack and quickly drew his mini saw from his hat.

Although Doofenshmirtz had a length advantage with his arms and pipe Perry knew the doctor would be cautious in attacking because he could also be seriously wounded. Doofenshmirtz started to circle Perry and continued his story

"Ok I lied about not wanting Phineas dead but I swear that I am the least of your worries. You see someone very close to you is working for me. They may even be a robot designed to take on the appearance of one or more individuals. I know it seems impossible but believe me when I tell you that someone is out to get Phineas and it is not me" Doofenshmirtz lunged at Perry quickly and Perry was ready.

Perry raised his left arm and blocked a side swipe from Doofenshmirtz. Although Perry's forearm was hot with pain he took a side swipe of his own. The saw connected.

Perry's mini saw had connected with Doofenshmirtz own forearm and had made quite the gash. Doofenshmirtz had dropped the pipe and was now frantically grabbing his forearm where the blood was gushing out. Perry took this time to make his move. Grabbing the back of the doctor's coat he jumped up into his shoulders and spun quickly knocking the doctor back with his tail.

Doofenshmirtz made a slow recovery and when he saw Perry standing in his ready pose he decided to retreat. Grabbing the edge of his coat and making a quick wrap for his hand Doofenshmirtz quickly flew up the tunnel and landed in the back yard. He took off running and Perry didn't make a move.

(P&F Room)

Phineas and Ferb still had no clue as to where Doofenshmirtz was and it was getting really late. Candace had retired to bed a while ago but not before contacting Buford's mom and letting her know he would be spending the weekend with them.

Buford had passed out on Phineas's bed and Ferb was now laying down ready to sleep. Phineas however kept looking over everything trying to get a clue.

"Phineas please get some sleep. We can continue this tomorrow when we are fresh" Ferb said through a yawn

"How can I when Isabella and Baljeet are out there with that deranged lunatic doing God knows what to them" Phineas turned back towards the screen. Ferb just shrugged knowing he could do nothing and decided to get some sleep.

The door swung open and Perry walked in. Phineas and Ferb looked shocked and quickly hopped out of their places and over to him to see what he needed. Perry knew he couldn't explain really but decided to use the computer Phineas was on to type out what he had to say.

"So you're saying you have a way to find out where Doofenshmirtz is?" Phineas questioned Perry after reading the screen of the computer.

Perry nodded

"Then let's go" Phineas grabbed Perry and made to run but his legs buckled under him and he just face planted on the floor. Perry shook his head and motioned towards the bed

"I can't wait till tomorrow we need to go now" Phineas tried forcing himself up but settled for sitting on the floor

Perry again shook his head

"YOU DON'T CARE DO YOU? YOU THINK WE HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD DON'T YOU? YOU…" Perry slapped Phineas and made an array of hand motions

"I think he is saying he won't be able to use his tracking device till the morning" Ferb gave a sympathetic look to Perry. He hated lying to Phineas but knew he had to in order to get Phineas to rest.

Perry nodded and smiled at Ferb just glad that he caught on.

"Really? Oh my…Perry…Ferb I'm…I'm so sorry" Phineas let his head fall

"It's ok brother….Get some rest and firs thing tomorrow we will go out and find Isabella and Baljeet" Ferb laid a reassuring hand on Phineas's shoulder.

It took a while but Phineas finally relented and fell asleep in Ferb's bed. Ferb and Perry decided to sleep on the couch for the night. Just as they were settling in they heard a knock at the door.

Perry darted up and ran towards the door. It was too late for anyone to visit so he was on top guard. As Perry slowly opened the door he had his mini saw ready to go. Perry flung the door open and was in complete shock at what he saw.

"See Vanessa I told you if I rewired this device we could locate Perry the platypus" Doofenshmirtz smiled widely at the mammal and to his daughter.

"Whatever dad can I go home now?"

"Fine but bring me the items I need tomorrow morning" Vanessa walked off and Doofenshmirtz turned his attention to Perry

"I get the feeling something is wrong. Tell me everything" Doofenshmirtz walked in and closed the door. Sitting down on the chair in the living room.

After a lengthy conversation, mainly between Ferb and Doofenshmirtz, everyone was caught up.

"Why are you trying to help us? And what is Vanessa bringing here tomorrow?" Ferb asked before Perry could even attempt

"I am helping you because I know the evils my other self is capable of and remember my mind wasn't erased either this time so I have remembered any and all weaknesses my other self possesses. I could be very beneficial to you guys" Doofenshmirtz gave a sad smile hoping to persuade them

Ferb and Perry exchanged looks and both finally nodded. Doofenshmirtz clapped his hands in delight.

"What is Vanessa bringing?" Ferb asked again after realizing that he didn't answer the question earlier.

"Listen she will be bringing us equipment to help us fight…trust me" Perry and Ferb shared an uneasy look but eventually nodded.

"Good then let's get some sleep. We will need to be up at 6 am" Doofenshmirtz curled up in his chair and fell asleep. Soon followed by Ferb and then Perry.

The house fell silent as everyone regained their energy for the battle to come.

(Doofenshmirtz cave)

Doofenshmirtz arrived back and threw his now bloody lab coat on a chair as he made his way towards the chamber.

He flung open the door and turned on the lights. He saw as Baljeet and Isabella were startled awake. She had been sleeping on Baljeet's shoulder and was now scurrying away with a slight blush in her cheeks.

Doofenshmirtz barreled over to Baljeet and picked him up forcefully. He heard the kids exchanging words but didn't care. He shut the light off and slammed the door shut.

He threw Baljeet to the floor and disappeared soon returning with a first aid kit he had stored away. As he started patching up his arm he started talking.

"It wasn't their…you lied to me…you sent me into an ambush" Doofenshmirtz winced as he stuck the hook through his arm to begin stitching it up.

"No I didn't…I swear I left it in the computer….I know I did...what happened to you?" Baljeet finally realized Doofenshmirtz was injured and wondered who had done this to him

"That damn platypus did this. Would've took the whole arm off had I not retreated away from him. Also if you didn't lie to me then why was it gone when I got their?" Doofenshmirtz winced at each time he had to place the hook through a new part of his skin to continue sewing him up.

"I don't know…Perry maybe he found it and suspected someone would come back for it and laid in wait until they came back" Baljeet threw that out hoping it would convince the doctor

"Perhaps but I still think you had something to do with it" Doofenshmirtz breathed a sigh of relief as he finally finished stitching himself together.

"NOOO I swear I didn't have anything to do with this. Remember we are on the same side if anything happened to you I would be stuck in that cell forever. It would make no sense for me to set you up" Baljeet begged

"But you didn't know I was planning this so you could have still set me up" Doofenshmirtz now turned his attention towards Baljeet

"I swear I didn't my only concern is Isabella I have no reason to go against you"

Doofenshmirtz was tired of this argument so he walked up to Baljeet and looked down. He determined that Baljeet was probably telling the truth but he didn't want Baljeet to know that.

A swift kick knocked Baljeet to the ground and Doofenshmirtz stepped on his neck. Applying slight pressure he spoke.

"If I find out you lied to me I swear that girl will not die quickly" Doofenshmirtz smiled as he saw Baljeet struggle for air but also nodding vigorously.

"Good" Doofenshmirtz grabbed Baljeet and quickly threw him back into the cell.

He returned to the table and sat down. He knew he needed sleep but he was still concerned about the USB device. His worries turned to nightmares as he drifted off to sleep.

Danville grew quiet. Everyone was sleeping but the weekend was young and everyone knew there was a lot more at stake than just a few people's lives. This battle would decide the fate of Danville…and potentially the world.


	7. Chapter 7

"AHHH GET HIM OFF ME GET HIM OFF" Doofenshmirtz screamed as Phineas locked in a choke hold

"WHERE ARE THEY?" Phineas kept repeating as he tried to choke the doctor who was now flailing around trying to throw the boy off

"PHINEAS LET HIM GO NOW" Ferb yelled

"WHY? WHY ARE YOU DEFENDING HIM?" Phineas challenged

"THAT'S NOT THE EVIL DOOFENSHMIRTZ! THAT'S THE LESS EVIL ONE! HE'S HERE TO HELP US" Ferb again winced because he spoke for so long and actually had to raise his voice.

Phineas got an embarrassed look on his face as what Ferb said sunk in. He slowly released his grip on Doofenshmirtz and slumped to the ground. Phineas slumped to the ground and lost all strength in his legs and abruptly fell face first into the carpet. Perry rushed over to help Phineas up while Ferb made some apologies to the doctor. Everything was getting settled when Candace burst down the stairs demanding to know what was going on.

"What is going on? What was with all the shouting? And who is this?" Candace asked pointing at Doofenshmirtz

"Candace, please. There was a misunderstanding and it led to a confrontation but everything is settled now…as for him…he's a doctor making a house call and checking in on me" Phineas explained

"What misunderstanding?" Candace again demanded an answer

"I let him in" Ferb started

"And I thought he was breaking in when I came down stairs so I jumped him" Phineas finished

It took a few seconds but Candace finally relented and retired back upstairs

"I'm a family doctor now?" Doofenshmirtz asked puzzled

Phineas, Ferb, Buford and Perry just slapped their foreheads

"Anyway…let's eat…What do you guys have" Doofenshmirtz made his way into the kitchen with four agents following him. They all had the look on their face that this was going to be a long day.

After breakfast everyone sat down around the table and discussions finally began. Candace had informed the boys she was going to be with Jeremy and if they needed her to just call.

"Well now, while we wait for Vanessa what information do we have of Doofenshmirtz?" Doofenshmirtz asked

"Nothing all we really have is blueprints to a new device he calls the mind scrambler…it basically acts as a portable concussion devise. Other than that we have nothing" Phineas looked around seeing if he forgot something

"We know he hacked the agencies computer system by somehow getting inside Perry's lab" Buford pointed out

"But we had those evil detectors in case he tried to get close to the house…how did he get past them?" Phineas challenged

"Maybe he tampered with the devices….or maybe he has someone doing an inside job" Perry perked up when he heard that because he remembered what the evil Doofenshmirtz said that someone was working for him…someone close to them.

"Who would work for him?" Phineas asked looking straight at the doctor

"Someone who has a certain spite for this family…or possibly for certain members of this family"

"But the detectors would have gone off if that were the case. They pick up levels of hate and alert us to who and where" Phineas now had his head hung low

"Then that means someone who had access to these devices reprogrammed them to not detect evil levels" Doofenshmirtz saw the glares he got for that statement

"So you're saying one of our friends did this? That's absurd. No one would betray us like that" Phineas couldn't continue

"I was just throwing it out their I didn't mean anything it was merely a uninformed guess" Doofenshmirtz and the rest were diverted from their discussion by the door bell

"I'll get it" Ferb hopped out of his chair

Soon Vanessa entered the kitchen, dropped off a few items and gave Ferb a quick kiss before walking out. This was all done without her saying a word.

"Anyway…What are these?" Phineas asked

"These are a few devices we are going to use to track and fight the eviler Doofenshmirtz" Doofenshmirtz said

"What's this thing do?" Buford asked as he picked up a small device no bigger than his hand. It looked metallic and was very thin. It had two small holes big enough to fit something else into.

"That is meant to immobilize the doctor when we find him. See it's like a stronger version of those Chinese finger traps. It is made out of solid alloy, so you know it'll take a bullet. The great thing is that once two fingers go in they well never come out" Doofenshmirtz finished with his evil laugh

After finally settling down he realized what he did

"Sorry, sorry it just comes natural you know"

After several uneasy glances they decided to shrug it off

It took a few hours but Doofenshmirtz finally rapped up his lecture with one device.

"I used this to track down Perry the platypus last night. See now I can rewire it to find me" Doofenshmirtz looked proud

"But you're right here…how would that help us?" Phineas asked the obvious question

"Because it will find ME. Since the other Doofenshmirtz is technically me we should get two signals and we just have to follow the one signal that isn't me" The boys eyes lightened up

"That's amazing but Perry already has a device that should be working now. So we won't need that" Phineas looked over at Perry who was now avoiding eye contact

"Perry? What's wrong?...Go get the tracker" even as he said the words Phineas realized what Perry did

"You lied to me…again…first you keep it a secret that you're a secret agent and now you lie to me about being able to find Isabella and Baljeet" Phineas just stopped talking and left the kitchen. Phineas stumbled a few times but he was regaining his ability to walk.

"Pleas finish the devices…I'll talk to Phineas" With that Ferb left the table

Doofenshmirtz, Perry and Buford all got to work.

(Doofenshmirtz cave)\

While Isabella was inside the room eating a small breakfast Baljeet had been pulled out and was eating a rather big breakfast. Doofenshmirtz kept looking around as if he was in a hurry.

"What do you want?" Baljeet asked between bites, his hands were still bound so he just bobbed his head for food

"I can't finish my suit because I lack the necessary parts but I have the two power cells charging it. The problem is I need more of those fuel cells to power up the other-dimensionator and I want you to make them for me"

Baljeet spit out what little food he had

"What? Why do you want to use that? I thought you planned to take over this tri-state area?" Baljeet asked while taking a sip of water through a straw

"I need a backup in case I somehow end up losing again. I have an idea and have already created the devices needed but I need fuel cells for that inator as a fail safe. Will you make them for me…Friend?" Doofenshmirtz forced a smile that made Baljeet gag on his water

Baljeet didn't know what to do. He didn't want to help but he couldn't risk getting the doctor angry at him and doing something drastic. After careful thought Baljeet finally made up his mind.

"I can't" Doofenshmirtz got an obvious scowl on his face and stood up

"WHY THE HELL NOT?" Doofenshmirtz went to grab Baljeet

"BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME" Doofenshmirtz stopped and motioned for Baljeet to continue

"Look it would take me too long to make these fuel cells and if Phineas and the other caught me I would be a dead man. I can only recommend you use the ones from your suit. Just reinforce the compartment holding them and if you lose offer them an ultimatum. You allow them to let you leave and you promise to never return. If they agree then you pull out the cells and open the other dimensionator and if not…I will create a distraction long enough for you to get out" Baljeet took another drink of water

Doofenshmirtz mauled this over in his head and decided it was worth the gamble to at least have part of a backup plan rather than no backup plan at all.

"Alright kid you have a deal. And if you're done I will put you back in your cell over their" Doofenshmirtz picked up Baljeet

"Wait I have a favor to ask"

"What is it?" Doof looked confused

"Beat me up a little" Doof was taken aback by this

"Why?"

"Just do it. Please" Doof did need to let off stress

For the next few moments it consisted of Doofenshmirtz throwing punch after punch into Baljeet. Although it hurt he knew exactly what he was going to do.

After the beating if Baljeet had any doubt about his nose being broken he no longer had them. His nose was noticeably broken and his whole upper body was covered in scars. As he approached the cell door Baljeet noticed a blinking red light that had not been their before

"What is that light?" Baljeet asked

"Nothing you need to worry about" Doofenshmirtz tossed Baljeet back into the cell and closed the door. He had a lot of work to do but was confident he could finish within a few hours.

(Inside the cell)

"OH MY GOSH BALJEET WHAT HAPPENED!?" Isabella asked as she saw his face right before the lights went out again

"Doofenshmirtz tried to make me help him build a device to destroy Danville. When I refused he started beating me hoping to make me help. I kept refusing and he finally got bored and threw me back in here" Baljeet feigned serious injury

"Baljeet" He could hear sadness and knew tears must be welling up in her eyes. He smiled wide because she couldn't see him and he knew how she felt

"Baljeet I'm sorry you have to go through all this…is there anything I can do?" Isabella offered

"Just stay close to me…I feel sleepy" Baljeet pretended to collapse and heard Isabella shuffle over to him

"I'll take care of you don't worry Baljeet"

In the darkness Tear drops could be heard as they hit the ground and formed a puddle. One cried out of sadness and one smiled brighter than he ever did before.

(Flynn-Fletcher house)

After an hour of convincing Phineas finally returned to the kitchen and sat down. Perry gave a sympathetic look while Phineas stared at the table. He knew how sorry Perry was he was just hurt that Perry would lie to him. He decided to get back to the matter at hand.

"Is everything ready?" Phineas asked

"Yes all you need to do is choose your weapons and we will be on our way" Doofenshmirtz said as he grabbed the tracker and started fiddling with it.

Bouford had picked up a pair of aluminum gloves Doofenshmirtz had specially fitted. They were designed to increase the punchers strength by almost two times and he liked to punch things.

Ferb had settled for a do all tool that had literally over a hundred uses. He had a few ideas how this could come in handy. The tip could change to fit and screw or do any job a normal tool could do. It didn't seem like a lot but ferb was happy.

Perry grabbed his mini saw and a few other gadgets and was satisfied.

Phineas took his time in deciding. He looked over everything and finally decided to take the fancy Chinese finger trap and a high powered rifle looking weapon that would send a sound wave through the air destroying electrical devices and knocking back anyone who got caught in the way. They were not the greatest but each person took something they knew they could use. With everything settled they got ready to leave.

As they all departed the table Phineas caught Perry by the shoulder before he left. No words were spoken just a slight squeeze and they both knew. The party set out as soon as Doofenshmirtz had a lock on his location.

(Doofenshmirtz cave)

"Finally done" Doofenshmirtz said as he stepped back.

He held up two little wrist devices and smiled as he looked around the room. He had a redesigned suit that was incomplete but would be of great help in the up coming battle. He also had a few other gadgets such as the cattle prod and others. Now he had these devices and he couldn't be happier.

He was going to make Phineas Flynn die of sadness and then he was going to get rid of him once and for all. He knew he was going to win.

"Because Phineas. When it comes down to just you and me…You will be begging me to kill you" Doofenshmirtz laughed manically.

Doofenshmirtz determined to Kill Phineas

Baljeet determined to make Isabella love him, and succeeding

Phineas determined to lead this group and take down Doofenshmirtz

Doofenshmirtz laughed mentally. This was going to be fun.


	8. Chapter 8

After a few hours of walking the children and Doofenshmirtz found themselves in a dense forest. They found with each step it became harder to walk as the foliage grew thicker and thicker as they moved.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Phineas asked as a tree branch abruptly smacked him in the face.

"Yes I am sure. The tracker is picking up my signal over there…about…10 miles away" Doofenshmirtz said as he was turning the tracker upside down and every which way trying to read it

The group sighed when they heard the news. Another ten miles for children was like 100 miles and they were getting really tired. Perry noticed the children losing ground with each step as they had to expend more energy to just keep up to him and Doofenshmirtz. Doofenshmirtz however didn't seem to notice or care that the kids were falling behind.

"Perry the platypus, what, what do you want?" Doofenshmirtz asked as the small mammal nudged him with his hand.

Perry pointed back to the children who were now easily six or seven meters behind and slowing rapidly. Doofenshmirtz knew what Perry was suggesting but didn't think stopping would be a good idea. Especially when they were so close and if there was the slim possibility that the other Doofenshmirtz knew where they were then they could be in real danger. He knew stopping could mean losing the fight before it even began.

"No Perry the platypus. I am sorry but if we stop now we would be in too much danger." Doofenshmirtz trudged on leaving Perry to look back at the quickly tiring kids.

"Man this guy is ruthless. Did I just hear him say we were not going to stop?" Buford asked to no one in particular he was more focused on placing his steps carefully so as not to step in some hole and break his ankle.

"Apparently" Ferb said while almost tripping on a trees root

"I'll go talk to him. I mean we can't fight Doofenshmirtz if we are exhausted" Phineas had started pulling away from the group and they could no longer hear what he was muttering about

Phineas pushed past Perry and started to slow as he sided up next to Doofenshmirtz. It took a few moments before he got up enough courage to even start to talk let alone ask to stop for the day.

"Ummmmm Doofenshmirtz?" Phineas was startled by the quick jump he got

"Oh wow kid I didn't even see you there. What do you want?" Doofenshmirtz asked as he returned his attention to the tracker.

"Well if we fight Doofenshmirtz today we are going to lose"

"How do you know that?" Doofenshmirtz peeled his attention away from the tracker and stared at Phineas now

"Well you see. If we keep walking me, Ferb and Buford will be so tired by the time we reach our destination that we won't be able to fight. This will leave just you and Perry to fight the doctor and if he has weapons anything like the mind scrambler…you might need all our help. So please can we stop for the day and get a good night's rest and continue fresh in the morning?" Phineas looked up at the doctor with pleading eyes

Doofenshmirtz saw those eyes and felt like maybe stopping was a good idea after all but there was one thing bugging him about this.

"Weren't you so eager to go earlier that you didn't even want to stop for lunch or rest? Why stop now?" Doofenshmirtz was walking more carefully as he watched his step but still kept Phineas in his sights

"Yes that was me. I got pumped on adrenaline and hearing that we knew where they were that I didn't care about anything but finding my friends. Now I see the error of what I did. By forcing us to continue I have caused everyone to use more energy and now we are all so tired that we can barely keep going. Trust me when I say I do not want to stop but I know we need to stop" Phineas stopped talking as he left the doctor to his own thoughts

Doofenshmirtz thought over what Phineas had said and although he knew they shouldn't stop he decided they could stop for the day and risk camping out during the night. He also got another plan but he wouldn't tell anyone until later tonight.

"Fine when we reach the five mile mark we will stop and set up camp. I am hoping that we will still be far enough away so we don't alert our position to the other Doofenshmirtz"

Phineas, happy to hear, started dropping behind to rejoin Ferb and Buford and tell them the news. Perry the platypus on the other hand sided up to Doofenshmirtz and gave him the look that said "I know you didn't tell him the truth". When Doofenshmirtz caught the look he sighed

"Perry the platypus I know you know I told him a partial truth but trust me I will tell you later" Doofenshmirtz started walking ahead of the platypus but cocked his head to the right and said one last sentence

"I may be dumb back in Danville but I really am smart…That diploma wasn't cheap" Doofenshmirtz turned back and started walking again. Perry couldn't help but wonder what the doctor had in mind…and why he was being so smart all of a sudden. The Doofenshmirtz Perry knew was a bumbling oaf who couldn't win a checkers game against himself. This was all so weird but Perry shrugged it off and continued on.

Back with Ferb and Buford, Phineas finally slowed down enough where they were now walking as a group once again. Buford was the first to speak.

"So dinner bell what did chicken legs say?"

"He said we can stop when we are five miles away. It should be far enough where the other Doofenshmirtz will be unaware of our presence. Why did you just call him chicken legs?" Phineas looked at Buford with one eye brow raised

"Look at him. His legs are so long they remind me of a chicken" As far as the brothers were concerned that was a good enough response from Buford.

"Dinner bell one last thing"

"Yes?" Phineas was now curious

"Me and Ferb here were talking and we started to wonder…Why us? I mean why is this Doofenshmirtz helping us? He has no real quarrel with the evil guy except maybe his story about being tied up and everything but still he has no real reason to help us right now am I right?" Buford got a thumb up from Ferb and Phineas was still mauling it over in his head

"The way I see it is he is holding a grudge for all the wrongs this eviler Doofenshmirtz has caused him. I guess he is helping us because he thinks we will be able to get him the revenge he wants" Phineas realized that they knew he would answer like that before they even started to counter his opinion

"Well I disagree. I mean if they are so much alike then this Doofenshmirtz should be able to create anything this other guys does so why not just go after him alone but with technology like his?" Buford left the question hanging as a tree branch hit him in the face

"Maybe he doesn't know or have the technology to create what this other guy has. I don't know Buford I really don't my mind is kind of pre occupied right now" Phineas turned away and started picking up a little speed.

"Phineas think of it this way. Are we really useful or did circumstances allow for this Doofenshmirtz to use us a bait to get what he really wants?" Ferb said as he continued walking at a regular pace.

Although Phineas never looked back or answered he started to doubt the security of the group. He trusted most the members but even having doubt in one was a bad sign. As everyone fell silent Phineas was lost in his thoughts trying to figure out who he could really trust and who might be out for themselves. He pushed a tree branch out of the way a realized it felt different. It was cold and stiff but the sun was shining right above their heads so it should be warm and limp. Phineas would walk away making the biggest mistake of his life. He didn't investigate the tree.

(Doofenshmirtz cave)

An alarm sounded throughout the cave and immediately Doofenshmirtz jumped up and ran to the monitors he had set up with his security camera feeds. He checked the immediate surroundings of where the alarm went off. It took a few seconds but he finally spotted the group. He smiled, happy with himself for installing those metal tree alarm systems around his cave to alert to anyone approaching. Normally it was hikers or joggers but now that he found his targets he was happy.

Doofenshmirtz took off towards the cell and flung the door wide open and flicked the switch, flooding the area with light. He frantically searched the small room looking for the person he wanted. He found the two kids sleeping together against the wall, he had gotten used to it after a while but it still made him cringe, he grabbed Baljeet and rushed out of the cell yelling he had to see something.

"There you see them? They are coming for you" he said cheerfully as he shoved Baljeet's face into the computer screen

"Why are you so happy? They have five people and you are only one. Remember I won't help you because I am playing the part of the kidnapped victim here?" Baljeet tried to push his face off the screen.

"I KNOW! THEY ARE SO CLOSE AND SOON I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE ON PHINEAS AND YOU WILL FINALLY HAVE THAT STUPID, NAIVE GIRL DOWN THE HALL LOVE YOU! ISN'T IT WONDERFUL?" Doofenshmirtz's voice echoed throughout the cave Baljeet was surprised at how cheerful Doofenshmirtz was being after just this morning almost ripping his head off when he said he couldn't build him any more of those fuel cells. Baljeet got an uneasy feeling.

"Why are you so happy?" Baljeet's voice cracked revealing his unease towards the situation

"Because everything is set. I cannot lose this time. I'll go put you back in the cell now I just wanted you to see how close we are getting too finally getting what we wanted" Doofenshmirtz finally regained his composure

"Anyway I will put you back in the cell common" Doofenshmirtz left the room and started his quick walk to the cell that was located just down the hall.

"Ummmmm Doofenshmirtz can I ask you a question?" Baljeet asked while being carried under the doctors' arm

"What is it now? Do you want me to beat you up some more? I could twist your arm and dislocate it" Doofenshmirtz offered

"No I was just wondering" Baljeet took in a deep breath

"Why is the cell door still open?" Baljeet and the Doctor froze.

The cell door was wide open. The light still on and from his stance neither could see Isabella anywhere. This caused both to panic as the doctor dropped Baljeet and took off in a mad dash towards the entrance of the cave. Baljeet on the other hand was still stunned that the door was left open. How stupid could this guy be?

Slowly Baljeet made it to his knees and forced himself up into a walking position. He had convinced the doctor to remove his leg bindings and replace them with chains so he could walk around freely outside the cell. Baljeet began a slow walk towards the cell. He knew Isabella would not get far in her state and even if she did he was going to wind up in the cell anyway so he might as well get inside and await his punishment. As Baljeet approached the cell door he heard breathing inside and was shocked to find Isabella inside and sound asleep. She was now against the wall at the far end and out of view from the door but he assumed she had just rolled around in her sleep.

When the doctor returned looking like he was ready to kill Baljeet he quietly nodded inside the cell. Doofenshmirtz smiled when he saw his prisoner was still inside and sleeping. Doofenshmirtz picked up Baljeet and threw him inside, more for effect than anything. And soon the door closed and the lights turned off. Then Baljeet heard the noise.

"Baljeet" Isabella sounded sleepy like she was awakened by the noise

"Oh you're awake?" Baljeet was glad the lights were off so she couldn't see how much he was sweating.

"Baljeet can I ask you something?" Isabella stifled a yawn

"Sure Izzy, anything" Baljeet started to relax

"Baljeet" She took a deep breath

"What did he mean when he said 'you'll have that stupid, naive girl down the hall would love you'?"

Baljeet froze. She heard…She knew. This wasn't good. She probably went to escape but after hearing what Doofenshmirtz yelled she decided to stay. She pretended to sleep so he would get back into the cell.

Baljeet was cursing the doctor for such a stupid move. Maybe he could talk his way out of it.

"Well…You see Izzy"

"DON'T EVER CALL ME THAT!" Isabella sounded like a demon possessed by pure rage

Baljeet started backing up until he was against the wall.

"So this whole time you were the one behind this whole plan. You got that lunatic out and have been helping him out ever since. You planned to kill Phineas" Although her words were in her normal voice Baljeet could not talk because he knew it was a ruse. She was so mad that the armies of hell would not stand in her way right now.

Baljeet did the one thing he should have avoided…He spoke

(Five miles away)

"Are you ok Phineas?" Ferb asked when he saw Phineas begin to shutter as if a cold chill raced down his back

"Yeah I just got the feeling all hell is being unleashed somewhere" Phineas looked around "Probably nothing"

"Alright you kids it's getting late and you wanted to rest…So go…rest" Doofenshmirtz rushed everyone off to their home made camp. Which was quite the site since Phineas and Ferb had designed it.

Doofenshmirtz watched as the kids went inside and fell down on their beds. As Perry passed him he grabbed him by the shoulder. Perry turned around and saw Doofenshmirtz motion to meet him a few yards away so as not to disturb the kids.

"Look Perry the platypus I know this isn't right. You know, me helping you. I am going to go on alone tonight" Perry stood wide eyed before vigorously shaking his head

"Just stop Perry the platypus. Take this tracker and it will lead you to his hide out. I already know where I am going. Don't worry I'll be ok and I'll hopefully surprise him while he sleeps" Perry started to follow him as he turned and started walking away.

"No you can't come with me. Trust me Perry this is not a battle you want to see. Hopefully tomorrow when you arrive I will have subdued that lunatic and we can rescue your friends and get home" He shoved Perry away and turned away.

Perry was shocked at this. Doofenshmirtz sounded serious and on a mission. Perry knew him better than almost anyone and this was not the Doofenshmirtz he knew. Before Perry turned to return to camp he swears he saw the doctor grab something out of his lab coat. Perry wanted to go after him but decided against it because he knew how serious Doofenshmirtz was being. That's when it hit him. How was he going to subdue the other Doofenshmirtz when he didn't have any of his devices with him? Perry suddenly got scared.

(Doofenshmirtz cave)

"WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG? DIDN'T YOU HEAR ME SCREAMING!?" Baljeet was screaming at the doctor while he was having his broken nose treated after having it re-broken.

"I was finishing up tiny details around the cave. Those walls are really thick and I didn't hear you till I was right outside the door. How did she do this? Her hands were tied and her feet bound" Doofenshmirtz wiped the blood away from Baljeet's nose

"She has a very hard head okay" Baljeet looked away as Doofenshmirtz wiped the blood away

"Well I guess I can untie you so you can help me fight" Doofenshmirtz said as he tried to steady Baljeet's head

"WHAT!? Why would I help you fight these people if I have nothing to gain?" Baljeet shot his head forward to face the doctor

"Because otherwise I will tell them what you had to do with all this" Doofenshmirtz smiled as he broke Baljeet's nose back into place

"OOOWWWWW YOU JERK!" Baljeet screamed

"Shut up, at least you're nose looks right again. Now what do you say? Will you help me?" Doofenshmirtz looked down on the kid

"What if Isabella tells them what I did then I won't have a reason to help you anyway?" Baljeet countered

"She won't trust me. If they get near that door I have a backup plan that will keep her quiet" Doofenshmirtz started laughing

Baljeet thought over this and finally agreed to help the doctor but was unsure why he even wanted his help anymore. He said he was ready and Baljeet guessed he didn't need a backup plan any more so why keep him around?

Doofenshmirtz looked pleased that Baljeet agreed.

"Good now hold still while I find the keys to the chains"

"HEY YOU!" Doofenshmirtz turned around and was face to face with his other half.

Normally the eviler Doofenshmirtz would be smiling because he was obviously stronger than his counterpart and knew it. The reason he wasn't smiling was because of what his other half was holding.

"Where did you get that gun?" Doofenshmirtz looked his weaker self up and down

"Shut up. The last few times we met you imprisoned me and even attempted to kill me. This time I will do something you couldn't. I am going to kill YOU" Doofenshmirtz started walking towards his other self who was now in a hasty retreat.

"Hey now let's not be too hasty. I mean common put that thing away" Evil Doof started to plead

Doofenshmirtz just kept on moving closer until he was beside Baljeet. Baljeet just pushed himself back into his chair and was shaking like crazy.

"Phineas will deal with you" Was all Doofenshmirtz said before turning his attention back to his other self. He took a few steps forward and then stopped as he realized his eviler half was smiling

"What's so funny?" He demanded

"You're going to die tonight" Doofenshmirtz laughed

"Really? Who is holding the gun?" Doofenshmirtz finished his sentence and then started too turned around as he heard a noise behind him.

Baljeet had jumped off the chair and landed a foot away from Doofenshmirtz and with his head low to the ground. Baljeet smiled as he brought his head up and slammed it into the good Doof's groin.

Doof let out a scream of pure pain and he dropped to his knees. He was immobile for a few seconds as his body rocked with pain but that few seconds was all the evil Doofenshmirtz needed as he made his move.

Doofenshmirtz could hear his other self start a mad dash at him but he could hardly move. He knew he would be a dead man if he didn't do something though so with all his strength he somehow forced himself to turn and quickly bring up the gun and fire.

The shot went wide and embedded itself into the wall of the cave. It missed Doofenshmirtz by a few feet but was close enough to throw him off balance. One thought started racing through his mind "HE ACTUALLY SHOT AT ME"

Doofenshmirtz never pulled the trigger again as his evil self closed the gap and tackled him. Baljeet now lay on the ground unable to move since he was still bound. He could only lay and watch the two fight it out.

They had rolled a few feet and came to a rest with the evil Doofenshmirtz underneath the good one. They both had their hands on the gun and were trying to force it into one another.

Doofenshmirtz could still feel the pain from Baljeet's attack but kept fighting. He started sweating as he realized he wasn't as strong as his evil doppelganger and the barrel of the gun was slowly pointing in his direction. He had to think quickly or die and in his rush he made a quick call. He threw all his weight on top of his other self trying to gain leverage as he fell and tear the gun out of his hands. His hopes were to roll through and keep the gun in his possession. That wasn't the case though.

Just as he threw his weight though the gun got trapped between the two and the trigger was squeezed. The shot rang out throughout the cave as both Doofenshmirtz's fell on the ground beside one another. The good Doofenshmirtz had accidentally fallen and slammed his head into the head of his opponent causing a severe head ache.

Baljeet eyes were wide open as he waited for the victor to rise. He didn't know which one was shot but was begging that it was not the evil one since he still needed him. As he looked between the two he noticed movement. Baljeet got scared when he noticed the one moving was the one in the white lab coat…the good Doofenshmirtz.

As Doofenshmirtz sat up he realized what happened and looked at his other self. He had his eyes closed but was breathing, obviously knocked out from the head butt he gave him earlier. Doofenshmirtz sighed a breath of relief and turned his attention to the gun. It was in the other guys' hands and was still smoking from the shot. As he leaned over he felt a sharp pain in his gut and when he looked down his eyes went wide.

A hole the side of a quarter was in his gut and it was gushing blood. He used his hands but could not stem the flow of blood any. It just kept squirting through his fingers. All of a sudden he heard laughing. He barely had time to look for the source when the loss of blood caused him to get light headed. The lights dimmed and he soon hit the ground. He was unconscious before he hit the ground however.

Baljeet was laughing so hard more from fear than anything else. Too his delight the evil Doofenshmirtz started to wake up. As he sat up and surveyed the surroundings he realized what had happened. Soon the cave was filled with laughter as the two realized that they were the victors…and now they had a new weapon at their disposal.

(5 miles away)

Perry shed a tear as he heard the shots. He didn't know who won but understood that tomorrow was going to be a grim day.


	9. Chapter 9

"You killed him…You really killed him" Baljeet was bouncing around from his position on the ground.

Doofenshmirtz realized what Baljeet was saying and abruptly stood up. This caused him to almost lose balance just from the sudden movement.

"No" Doofenshmirtz said blatantly

"What do you mean no?" Baljeet ceased bouncing and was now glaring at Doofenshmirtz

"I said no. I will not allow myself to die. I can't explain it but if he were to die I feel like a part of me would die as well. I don't know why" Doofenshmirtz was standing over his other self's body. He noticed he was still breathing but each breath was shaky and uncertain if there would be another breath.

"You are gaining emotions now? Are you crazy? We cannot afford you of all people to start getting emotional" Baljeet soon had a familiar boot pressing down on his throat.

"Shut up kid. I am not getting emotional I am just protecting myself from feeling anything but anger. I will allow him to live but he will be placed in the cell as a prisoner as well" Doofenshmirtz released his foot from Baljeet's throat and smiled as he listened to the boy gasp much needed air.

"He has a bullet hole in him and is losing blood by the second. How can you save him?" Baljeet threw out "and where is the keys to these chains?"

Doofenshmirtz threw the keys to Baljeet over his should as he realized he didn't have a lot of time.

"HEY MY HANDS ARE BOUND HERE! I CAN'T GET THE KEYS!" Baljeet started yelling

"Oh shut up kid. I'll be back in a bit and let you out" Doofenshmirtz started walking away with his other self in his hands. He paid no attention to the comments being blurted out from the kid behind him. This was going to be a long night.

(Perry's camp)

Perry couldn't sleep and was sitting by a now smouldering camp fire. Even though he would never admit it he was thinking about Doofenshmirtz and if he was safe. He wanted to believe he had won and when they arrived tomorrow he would have Baljeet and Isabella safe and everyone would be ready to go home. Deep down he knew that wouldn't be the outcome.

Perry was startled when he heard a noise from behind him. He turned fast but lowered his guard when he saw it was just Phineas, obviously unable to sleep either. Phineas made his way over to Perry and took a seat beside his pet.

"So Doofenshmirtz went alone after all huh?" Phineas finally spoke

Perry just shot his head to his owner with a look that seemed to question how he knew.

"Common Perry I knew from the start he didn't plan to fight with us. It was confirmed when Ferb said something while we were walking. I sort of guessed it would end up being just us" Perry noticed after that Phineas brought his knees up to his chest and hugged them for dear life.

Perry knew what Phineas was thinking without even having to ask. He was thinking about tomorrow, His friends and especially Isabella. Perry knew now was not the time to disturb Phineas but to just let him settle his own thoughts. He went back to stoking the embers.

Phineas was struggling with an inner conflict. He had been fighting himself for days now and knew he couldn't win the upcoming battle if he was still divided inside his head. On one hand he was determined to finish this business with Doofenshmirtz. On the other hand he had let Isabella get captured. He had failed to protect the most important person to him and now they were being held against their will by an evil genius who plans to do who know what to her. Phineas was torn between wanting to stop Doofenshmirtz and end this stupid fight once and for all and the sadness of not doing anything when the love of his life was taken. How could he face him or her after what had happened. He could already picture Isabella never forgiving him and Doofenshmirtz winning the battle. He didn't know what to do.

As the night grew long Phineas refused to leave his train of thought and Perry refused to leave his side.

(Doofenshmirtz cave)

Doofenshmirtz's eyes fluttered open and was greeted by a blinding white light. He used his arm to shield his eyes from the intense light. As he lay there he tried to remember what happened. The last thing he recalled was reaching for the gun him and the evil Doofenshmirtz had been fighting over. Suddenly the rest came flooding back into his memory and he shot up from his laying position. He soon realized that was not a good idea as he abruptly turned to the side and threw up.

"EWWWWW" was all he was greeted with. He looked up and found a small child tied up in a sitting position a few feet away. She looked terrified and at the same time disgusted.

"Who are you?" Doofenshmirtz asked surveying his surroundings. "And where am I?"

Isabella started to speak but was quickly cut off

"Wait I know. I died and this is heaven…Because it sure doesn't look like the other place…Hey do they have Almond Brittle up here?" Doofenshmirtz looked down at Isabella

"Ummmmm actually you are not dead you are stuck in here with me. I saw them bring you in, you were bleeding quite a bit" Isabella shuddered remembering all the blood

Doofenshmirtz remembered he had been shot and checked his gut. He found a solid piece of metal fused around his midsection and it seemed to be operational. He started to fiddle with it and try to figure out what it did. He was so engrossed with this technology that he blocked out the outside world.

"I wouldn't screw with that if I were you" The other Doofenshmirtz walked in through the door.

"Right now it is repairing your wound and is removing the shards of the bullet still lodged in your stomach. If you were to move it and a shard were to cut a main artery…well then we would have quite the mess now wouldn't we?" Doofenshmirtz smiled as he looked between the pair

"Hey I don't get it. You had me beat and then you bring me here and start to heal me…Why?" Doofenshmirtz said with his hands now protective of the device attached to him.

"A safety precaution. Nothing more and nothing less. I have an uneasy feeling you might come in handy as a bargaining tool and I would hate to leave all my eggs in one basket. As for you" He pointed to Isabella "You are going to help me destroy Phineas once and for all"

"WHY WOULD I HELP A FREAK AND MAD MAN LIKE YOU?" Isabella practically screamed.

"You will have no choice in the matter. You see I might not be able to defeat all your friends and their fancy gadgets but I have you and I know none of them will do anything against me if it means harming you" Doofenshmirtz smiled but Isabella didn't flinch

"Hah now who's naïve? They will stop at nothing to stop you even if it means harming me. You lose" Isabella smiled hoping he wouldn't catch on

"You are clever I will give you that but I know they won't do anything to harm you. Baljeet already told me that you are Phineas's girlfriend and he told me everything else I needed to know. See they might come to rescue you but they will be walking into a trap. Trust me little girl I will make Phineas die inside and when he begs me to kill him I will" Doofenshmirtz had moved closer to Isabella to show he wasn't kidding.

Isabella shuddered at his presence but also at what he said. Baljeet was a dirty double crosser and she would never forgive him but how was he going to kill Phineas on the inside?

"How?" was all she could muster up

"HAHA! I guess I can tell you. You see your friends are still under the impression that Baljeet is one of my kidnapped victims. He will be playing the role when they arrive and when questioned he will reveal that I killed you. Heartbroken Phineas will suffer in his own personal hell while he understands what is happening. If it comes to fighting and I am, for any reason, going to lose then I will reveal that you are still alive. However I have placed explosives outside the door and if they wished to see you alive again than Phineas was going to have to fight my battle" Doofenshmirtz was making little sense to the girl but she understood the parts about Phineas suffering and this caused her to cry. She could hardly see but she knew the evil Doofenshmirtz was enjoying this.

"What do you mean your battle?" the good Doofenshmirtz asked as he finished processing the whole speech.

"That will come later. I have no need to spill all my secrets to you two I just wished to pay a respectful visit. Baljeet will feed you and then he will retire. I'll be leaving the light on from now." With that Doofenshmirtz exited the cell and Baljeet soon appeared with two trays of food as well as two glasses of what looked like water. Doofenshmirtz got up and started to walk when he was all of a sudden yanked back. He soon found the reason for this as he was attached to the wall via a chain that clamped around his right ankle.

"Here is your food" Baljeet offered to which Doofenshmirtz accepted.

"Where's my fork? I need a fork to eat" Doofenshmirtz protested

"Sorry but cutlery is prohibited. Just use your hands" Baljeet did a hand motion for what he meant

"I can't they are too shaky from the memories of what happened yesterday see?" Doofenshmirtz picked up some food and it immediately vacated his hand through any holes they could find. Baljeet witnessed this and after a few seconds agreed

"I will get you a fork but nothing else. Also please do not tell the master what I am doing. He might kill me" Baljeet soon disappeared outside the door.

Isabella looked back at Doofenshmirtz after she knew Baljeet was out of ear shot.

"What are you planning?" She asked with her curiosity posted all over her face.

"Just a little surprise. Trust me." Doofenshmirtz said as he sat down and awaited Baljeet.

It didn't take long before Baljeet entered and gave the fork to Doofenshmirtz. On his way out though as he passed Isabella he shot her a shy smile hoping to try and show her he was sorry. Isabella just scoffed at him and turned away. The door was soon slammed shut.

"Seriously, what are you doing?" Isabella asked again

"Escaping" was all Doofenshmirtz said as he started working on the lock to his chain with the teeth of the fork.

Isabella's eyes lit up when he said that.

(Perry's Camp)

The sun was now cresting the horizon and Perry knew everyone would be getting up soon. He activated the tracker and put out any remains of the fire. He kept a constant eye on Phineas who still had not moved from his spot.

Soon Buford and Ferb had woken up as well and after a quick explanation by Perry to leave Phineas alone right now they decided to make a run for the stream nearby and get a quick shower in. As they departed Phineas was left alone with his thoughts once again.

I can't lose this fight, I won't but I won't risk the life of Isabella. What am I going to do? I can't accomplish two tasks at the same time but I won't be able to focus on just one task either. Which is more important? Isabella or Doofenshmirtz? As Phineas started weighing the pros and cons of each person he came to the conclusion that he had to divide his efforts and go after the biggest threat. He knew what he had to do.

When Perry, Ferb and Buford returned they found the campsite packed up and Phineas ready to go.

"So dinner bell what's the plan?"

"What makes you think I have a plan?" Phineas asked with a spark in his eye

"Trust me dinner bell I know you and I know you have a plan" Buford was right

"Alright I do have a plan but I want to hear what you guys think" Phineas said and when he received nods he started to explain

"I cannot fight Doofenshmirtz and find Isabella at the same time. Although I know Doofenshmirtz is a threat I just refuse to leave Isabella alone any longer then she already has been. I figured we should divide our efforts. Buford, you and I will take on Doofenshmirtz while Perry and Ferb, you guys go find Isabella. It will put me at ease to know Isabella is being looked after by those closest to me. Buford I just need your raw power" Buford slammed his fists together at the sound of that

"It sounds alright Phineas but how are we going to find Isabella? She might not even be in the same location as Doofenshmirtz anymore…And what about Baljeet?" Ferb questioned.

"I figure Baljeet will be with Isabella and if not with Doofenshmirtz as some sort of bargaining tool. As for locating Isabella just rewire the track to our cuteness tracker. It'll pick up on her in a heartbeat and you just follow it. What do you think" Phineas was pleased when he saw Ferb give him a thumbs up and Buford was on board the minute Phineas complemented his strength. That left Perry.

After everything was said Perry looked around the group. He trusted each individual more than anything and if they were fine with it than so was he. Perry smiled and everybody was glad to be at an agreement.

"Now let's move out. Ferb remember. When we get to the hideout start rewiring that thing and head straight to Isabella. Then come find us afterwards. Also if you happen to find Doofenshmirtz, I mean the good one, anywhere grab him too ok" Before anyone could ask where the good Doofenshmirtz was Phineas had started off.

Isabella I am coming for you and I swear I will do everything in my power to keep you safe.

The battle was about to begin. Both side had their plans but who would be victorious?

As if on cue a thunderstorm started rolling in…Perfect weather for the fate of the world.


	10. Chapter 10

"Well at least we tried" Doofenshmirtz said as he slumped back onto the homemade bed.

He had failed to pick the lock and escapes as planned. This caused both him and Isabella to start doubting that this would be easier than anticipated. While Doofenshmirtz decided to get some rest Isabella decided now was the time to sort out her emotions and determine what she would do after this is all over. The room was bathed in silence as each person went about their own business.

(The Group)

"Ok everyone we have about a mile to go and we will be at the cave" Phineas proclaimed after checking the tracker

"Hey dinner bell shouldn't we get out of this rain and wait for it to stop?" Buford Said as he started ringing out his wet clothes.

The rain had started suddenly and caught everyone off guard. The kids had been walking for about two miles when the rain started. It wasn't the rain they disliked it was the fact that the once solid ground beneath their feet was now slippery and muddy. This only made it harder for them to walk and also caused them to expend more energy than they really could afford especially moving up hill.

"Sorry guys but we lost a lot of time yesterday and we really need to make that up today. Besides we are so close if we stopped now than it would be like surrendering. Doofenshmirtz has to know we are here by now so we can't stop" Phineas said all this while forcing himself forward

The group, although tired, knew he was right and trudged on through the storm. They were tired but now determined.

(Doofenshmirtz cave)

"Are you ready?" Doofenshmirtz asked as he started putting the chains back onto Baljeet.

Yes. Are you sure that Phineas will come for you? What if they break Isabella and the other out and then run?" Baljeet asked as Doofenshmirtz locked the chains on leaving enough slack so Baljeet could move with limited resistance.

"He'll come for me" Doofenshmirtz said as he got up and entered the room in front of Baljeet.

"How are you so sure?" Baljeet still had an obvious tremor in his voice because they were relying completely on faith that he would come to them.

"I kidnapped his girlfriend and used him to cause harm to her. Trust me when I say he will seek me out and when he does WE will make him pay" Doofenshmirtz pressed a button and all Baljeet could hear was metal being shifted and assembled

"So what am I supposed to do again?" Baljeet just kept talking to pass the time and make sure he had everything down

"When he shows up I need you to start acting like he is your saviour. After you praise him he will ask where Isabella is and that is when I need you to really act. You see you will tell him that I killed her after she attempted an escape but before you say that you will tell him that she revealed she had feelings for you" Baljeet realized the room went quiet and then realized what the doctor had said

"Why do I tell him she had feelings for me?" Baljeet was confused

"Because then he will not only be full of sadness but jealousy towards you. He won't take it out on you of course but rather he will want to unleash his fury on me. His heart will be torn and it will be so easy for me to gain the upper hand and while he is suffering on the inside I will cause him physical pain on the outside. After a while he will be totally defeated and that is when I will end his life like he will beg of me" Doofenshmirtz emerged from the room in his new suit.

It only covered his upper half and the length of his arms. It had metallic looking gloves attached to the arms allowing the whole upper half to be protected but left him exposed from the waist down. Baljeet also noticed the suit was covered in dents from not being fine-tuned like it should have been. On top of that he didn't notice any compartment for the fuel cells to be housed.

"Where is the power source for that?" Baljeet again looked over the suit to try and find any area he might have over looked but couldn't find a single area.

"Right here" Doofenshmirtz began tapping the spot directly over his right rib cage.

"What about movement? It looks bulky" Baljeet was starting to annoy Doofenshmirtz with all his questions.

"JUST TRUST ME OK! I KNOW…" an alarm cut them off and Baljeet saw Doofenshmirtz smile.

"It's about to begin" Doofenshmirtz said with a smile as he threw Baljeet to the floor.

(Mouth of the cave)

"Alright guys we're here. You all know what to do. Ferb?" Phineas looked at his brother who had just finished rewiring the tracker. Ferb just gave a thumb up and grabbed Perry before departing. This left Buford and Phineas to go after Doofenshmirtz, which the tracker told them was straight ahead down a long hall way.

Phineas lead the way down the hall with Buford close behind. Buford had been silenced a few times when he tried to talk and soon figured out why. Phineas wanted to have as much surprise as he could and with him talking he would give away their position. He soon quieted. Soon they came to an open door and when Phineas peered inside Buford saw the shock in Phineas's eyes. Phineas entered the room and motioned for Buford to follow. Once inside the room Buford saw what shocked Phineas.

The far wall had screens and each screen displayed a different location outside the cave, inside and even around Danville. Doofenshmirtz had been watching them all this time and they had no idea. Shock was soon replaced with a great idea and Phineas was quickly typing on the keyboard.

"What are you doing?" Buford asked as he was watching the door in case anyone entered.

"I'm going to use the cameras in this cave to try and find Doofenshmirtz. Hopefully he is somewhere that is in range of a camera. Then we plan our attack" Phineas was typing madly.

Soon the screens all flashed to different areas of the cave. Many of these areas were deserted. Soon Phineas found Ferb and Perry down a hallway of their own. He also found Isabella and the other Doofenshmirtz, he recognized him by the lab coat, sitting in a room. Isabella was tied up and Doofenshmirtz seemed to be chained to the wall. He also noticed something around Doofenshmirtz's waist and was wondering what it was when Buford yanked him away and pointed to a screen in the top right.

"I FOUND EM" Buford sounded excited as though he won a contest of some sort

Phineas studied the screen and was pleased with the location. Doofenshmirtz had Baljeet on the floor in the middle of a large room. There was basically no furniture besides a chair and table pushed against the wall. He also noticed Doofenshmirtz wearing a worn down suit. He wasn't sure how powerful it was but with both him and Buford they should be able to take him. Phineas quickly grabbed Buford and took off for the location on the screen. Doofenshmirtz knew they were here but he was still hoping to that they could get this over with quick.

(Ferb and Perry)

"It says she's just down the hall" Ferb said and then took off with Perry hot in pursuit.

They reached the door a few minutes later and Ferb quickly called out for Isabella.

"ISABELLA ARE YOU IN THEIR?" Ferb called

"FERB! WE'RE IN HERE!" Isabella responded

"WE?" Ferb called back

"ME AND THE GOOD DOOFENSHMIRTZ" Isabella replied

"OK STAND BACK WE ARE COMING IN" Ferb got to work.

"WE?" Isabella called but got no response. All she heard was the sound of a tool of some sort.

"I hope they hurry" Isabella whispered under her breath

"They'll get us out of here and then we can all go home" Doofenshmirtz tried to reassure her.

She smiled at him to show she was grateful for his support.

(Phineas and Buford)

They just reached the room Doofenshmirtz was in when they stopped. Phineas tried to peek around the corner and survey the room closer up.

"Come out kid. I see you" Doofenshmirtz called when he caught Phineas peek around the corner.

Phineas didn't move and he just motioned for Buford to be quiet. Hoping to make him think he was seeing things.

"Come out or I kill your friend here" Doofenshmirtz kicked Baljeet to the ground which caused him to cry out.

After a glance between the two they finally decided they couldn't risk Baljeet's life. Phineas stepped out followed by Buford and together they entered the room.

"Now isn't this more comfy? All of us in the same room" Doofenshmirtz was smiling.

"Phineas you have to get out of here" Baljeet pleaded

I'm not leaving without you and Isabella" Phineas said

Baljeet was about to start his lie about Isabella being dead when he heard Phineas continuing.

"Besides I know where she is thanks to your security cameras" Phineas smirked at Doofenshmirtz who growled back.

Baljeet was mentally clapping himself on the back for not saying Isabella was dead because Phineas would have realized he was lying. However he could still mess with him and convince him to get Buford out of here. He planned to tell Phineas to send Buford away and free him and the two of them could fight Doofenshmirtz. It would be a two on one handicap but not in Phineas's favor.

"Phineas listen to me. Ferb and Perry are going to need help. Doofenshmirtz had planned for you guys to split up. Send Buford to help them and I'll stay here and help you" Baljeet was just begging that Doofenshmirtz would catch on.

Doofenshmirtz did catch on. At first he was a little taken aback that Baljeet had abandoned the original plan but soon remembered why. In response he had to make it look like Baljeet was telling the truth and so kicked him to the ground fairly hard.

"SHUT UP KID!" Doofenshmirtz yelled.

Phineas saw this and decided Baljeet was being truthful, I mean why would Baljeet lie to him.

"Buford go back and help Ferb and Perry. Me and Baljeet will take care of Doofenshmirtz" Phineas ordered as he took a step forward and withdrew his sound cannon.

Buford stood there a few seconds longer before turning and running back down the hall hoping he wasn't too late. This left Baljeet, Doofenshmirtz and Phineas alone.

"I guess the party can start now. It's a shame yo…" Doofenshmirtz was stopped as Phineas pulled the trigger and sent a sound wave flying at him. Doofenshmirtz didn`t even have time to block as the wave hit him and sent him flying back into the wall.

Phineas was pleased that his attack hit and quickly ran up to Baljeet. Surprisingly he found out Baljeet was only tied down with regular rope rather than chains like Doofenshmirtz. Phineas quickly untied Baljeet and tucked him behind himself and started to make some distance from Doofenshmirtz as he recovered.

Doofenshmirtz stood up after a few second and looked furious.

"Baljeet where is his power source?" Phineas asked quickly

"It's secured in his left arm. Why?" Baljeet feigned fear

"Because this blast will knock out electrical equipment as well and should shut that suit down" Phineas started taking aim.

"Oh no you don't" Doofenshmirtz started to run

(Ferb and Perry)

It's no use. This tool of mine can cut into the door but it's too thick for my tool to go all the way through. We need a new plan" Ferb put his tool back and started to think

"OUTTA THE WAY FERB!"

Ferb and Perry turned to see Buford running in their direction just before he leapt into the air. Shocked they almost forgot to move but thankfully they did as Buford threw all his might into his punch and slammed his fist into the door. When he removed his fist they saw an impression in the middle of the door. Ferb smiled.

"Keep going. Sooner or later you'll punch right through that door" Ferb encouraged

Buford smiled and began punching the door with everything he had.

(Phineas)

Doofenshmirtz had started making erratic movements to avoid the onslaught of the attack. He dodged the first few shot but finally Phineas connected with his left shoulder sending him sliding back a few feet. He smiled when he saw the look on Phineas's face.

"Baljeet it's not working" Phineas aimed another shot

"I don't know, maybe he reinforced it and didn't tell me. Keep trying" Baljeet pleaded

A few shots later Doofenshmirtz got his first offensive move in. He had gotten close enough to grab Phineas by the hem of his shirt. He threw him against the far wall and smiled even wider when he saw the gun leave his hands. Doofenshmirtz was now throwing Phineas around like he was a baseball.

Phineas was getting weaker with each strike that connected. Doofenshmirtz had him backing away when he bumped into something. He turned quick and found the chair. He quickly grabbed it and swung it with all his might at Doofenshmirtz hoping to immobilize him long enough to run and get his weapon back. Unfortunately Doofenshmirtz was ready and with a whip of his hand the chair exploded into pieces. Phineas used this chance to sneak between the doctors legs and make a run for his weapons until he felt resistance grab the back of his shirt. He didn't even get to turn around when Doofenshmirtz lifted him in the air and slammed him face down on the table.

Doofenshmirtz was pleased with how well things were going even if his original plan failed to make Phineas miserable he planned to do that physically. He flipped Phineas over and as he stared into the groggy eyes of his rival he started slamming his fists into Phineas's chest.

Phineas started coughing up blood.

"Baljeet…please help" Phineas pleaded

Baljeet just stood there staring.

(Buford and the rest)

"Almost there Buford" Ferb said as the door was shaking more and more with each punch

"AHHHH" Buford threw a huge right hand and sent the door toppling inward slamming into the floor.

Ferb, Perry and Buford rushed in. Ferb and Perry ready for anything but Buford was calmer because he already knew who was inside.

"FERB, BUFORD" Isabella shrieked with glee when she saw her friends

"PERRY THE PLATYPUS" Doofenshmirtz squealed, a little more girly then he meant too.

"Hold on Isabella. We'll have you out of there in a second" Buford said as Ferb started using his handy tool to cut the fabric finally freeing her. Perry ran over to Doofenshmirtz and used his mini saw to cut the chain off his leg and freeing him.

Isabella jumped up and grabbed Ferb in a hug and then grabbing Buford for a hug. She went to give Perry a hug and then saw that Doofenshmirtz already beat her to it. Then she realized Phineas wasn't with them.

"WHERE'S PHINEAS?" She panicked and started looking frantically.

"Easy Isabella. He's fighting Doofenshmirtz right now" Buford said

"You left him alone" Ferb looked at Buford with complete disbelief.

"No way. I ain't that stupid. Baljeet was there and he told me to come help you guys. He and Phineas are fighting him right now" Buford seemed pleased to show them he wasn't that stupid

Ferb was relieved when he heard that Phineas had Baljeet backing him up. Although Baljeet lacked physical strength his genius mind would come in handy trying to find any weakness in Doofenshmirtz. Ferb was about to say something when he saw the frightened look in Isabella's eyes.

"Isabella what's wrong?" Ferb asked concerned

"You left him with Baljeet?" Isabella turned to Buford, this time with rage in her eyes

"Yeah. What did I do wrong?" Buford was now backing away

"You STUPID…IDEOT…JERK" Isabella started walking towards him when she felt someone grab her arm

"WHAT!?" Isabella turned to see Ferb

"What is wrong?" Ferb asked again

"BALJEET IS WORKING FOR DOOFENSHMIRTZ" She practically screamed

Everyone got a worried expression on their faces before abruptly turning on their heels and rushing out of the room. The sounds of battle in the distance getting louder as they got near.

(Phineas)

Phineas was now coughing up quite a bit of blood as he finally managed to dodge a punch. Doofenshmirtz had snapped the table in half and had continued to punish Phineas. Pieces of the table were lying around as Phineas kept looking at Baljeet for help who just stood there.

Phineas side rolled another punch and grabbed a sharp shard from the table and stabbed it into Doofenshmirtz's foot.

"AHHHHHHHHH" Doofenshmirtz screamed as he reached down and yanked the shard out of his foot.

Phineas had started a half jog half run for his weapon but was thrown to the ground by another quick punch from Doofenshmirtz. Phineas however rolled through and landed within arm's reach of his weapon. All he had to do was grab it, turn and fire it would take him a few seconds. He reached for it.

Suddenly it was yanked away from Phineas and when he looked up he got a shocked look on his face. Baljeet had yanked the weapon away and now had it pointed right at Phineas. Although it was meant to send opponents flying and destroy electrical equipment at this range there was no doubt in Phineas's mind that at this distance a shot would kill him.

Phineas finally broke down at the revelation that Baljeet was against him. After all the effort he put forth in rescuing him he was now going to kill him…How? Phineas felt even worse when he realised that the good Doofenshmirtz had suggested someone was working for him and yet he dismissed it without thought. Phineas now lay there with tears in his eyes awaiting the final shot. Baljeet began to pull the trigger and Phineas closed his eyes waiting for the shot to come.

"OH NO YOU DON'T" Buford broke in and made a dash at Baljeet who was caught off guard.

Buford aimed his punch at the weapon Baljeet was holding but Baljeet figured it out just in time to pull it out of the immediate path of Buford's fist. This caused Buford to make a sharp 180 and throw another punch. This time he connected but not with Baljeet.

Doofenshmirtz, afraid if he lost Baljeet and that weapon, thought he would easily lose this fight since he was out numbered. So instead of letting his partner and his upper hand get destroyed he made his move. He had to rely on his own leg strength but he made it just in time and threw himself between Buford and Baljeet taking the full force of the shot to his left chest.

Doofenshmirtz and Baljeet both slid back a few meters before coming to a stop. Doofenshmirtz smiled when He realized they were far enough away that Buford couldn't make a sudden move again and Phineas was still recovering.

"PHINEAS" everyone turned towards the door to see Isabella, Ferb and Perry standing there in shock.

Phineas just smiled when he saw Isabella but then got a concerned look on her face when he realized she was unarmed and could get hurt.

"Isabella get out of here" Phineas pleaded before succumbing to a coughing fit and coughing up blood onto the ground.

Isabella's hands shot to her mouth to try and stifle a cry when she saw this. She held back the urge to run to him because she realized how dangerous it was.

Phineas couldn't talk he was trying too hard to catch his breath.

"Common, one eye. Bring it" Buford was taunting Doofenshmirtz who took the bait.

Lunging at Buford, Doofenshmirtz forgot to check on Baljeet who was trying to aim. Now he was in the way and Baljeet was forced to wait for another opportunity. However Buford and Doofenshmirtz became better acquainted with each other. Both of them wanted to show how strong they were. Doofenshmirtz with his suit and Buford with his now gauntlets, as he now called them.

Doofenshmirtz threw the first punch and Buford ducked and slammed a fist into the right chest plate of the suit. This caused Doofenshmirtz to stumble back a few feet before throwing another punch. Buford was surprising everyone with his patience in waiting for Doofenshmirtz to attack and then side stepping followed by a hard punch into the suit. Doofenshmirtz realized he would lose at this rate and decided to try a new tactic.

Throwing a sloppy left he watched for the exact moment Buford side stepped. As soon as he saw Buford move he quickly turned on his heels and slammed his right fist into the skull of Buford. It was so quick Buford spin around and hit the ground quite hard. When he got up everyone gasped at what they saw.

Buford was now missing a few teeth on the right side of his face and he was also bleeding from his mouth quite profusely. Doofenshmirtz just smiled. Doofenshmirtz threw another sloppy left and again Buford side stepped allowing him to turn on his heels throwing another right to the same area of Buford's face. However Buford recognized Doofenshmirtz liked to repeat himself and threw up his arms and caught the attack. Once he caught Doofenshmirtz's hand he wrapped his left arm around it holding him in place. Doofenshmirtz started to struggle but for some reason could not get loose. Then he saw what Buford was doing and he started struggling even harder.

After Buford had pinned his arm his started winding up his fist and was delighted when he saw the terror in Doofenshmirtz's eye. Doof struggled but it was in vein as Buford threw his punch and slammed it into the chest plate. The metal on both Doofenshmirtz and Buford shattered causing sever lacerations to Buford's hand and causing Doofenshmirtz to fall back and to the ground. Everyone was speechless as reality set in. Buford had won.

Smiling Buford approached, the now immobile, Doofenshmirtz cracking his knuckles. Buford was just about to grab Doofenshmirtz when a wave came crashing through the air and slamming him into the wall. Buford slumped to the floor and looked up at Baljeet.

"You're….dead…..nerd" Buford spoke before passing out.

Baljeet was now breathing heavily as what he just did sunk into his head. It didn't take long though before he had the weapon trained on Phineas.

"Sorry Phineas…I hope you realize this was just how we were fated to end our friendship. Please forgive me" Baljeet began to pull the trigger.

"NOOOOOOOOO" Isabella screamed as her knees buckled and she hit the floor.

Baljeet smiled for a second as he pulled the trigger. All of a sudden the weapon was thrust into the air and the wave shot the ceiling causing quite a bit of rumble to fall onto the kids. Baljeet struggled to see who had thwarted him when he saw a fist fly through the smoke and land square between his eyes. Baljeet was out before he hit the floor.

"Well I wasn't about to lose my own brother" Ferb stated as he picked up the weapon and walked over to Phineas. Isabella soon joined them.

Isabella was asking many questions about Phineas's health to which he just brushed them off. Then they heard the laughing.

"You think you won?" Doofenshmirtz had gotten out of his suit and was now standing a few yards away.

Ferb trained the gun on him and Doofenshmirtz pulled two items out. One was a small switch and the other was the gun from his earlier battle with his other self.

"Drop it" He demanded as Ferb trained his own weapon on Doofenshmirtz

"Not before you" was all Ferb said

Time stood still as both men just stared with their eye(s) locked on the other. Ferb was a man of action and was just waiting for the slightest twitch of his finger before he pulled the trigger of his weapon. Doofenshmirtz was obviously thinking about his next move very carefully. Neither backed down for the next five minutes they stood perfectly still. Finally Doofenshmirtz spoke.

"I'll throw my gun down if you do the same. Let's talk and see if we can come to an agreement" Doofenshmirtz offered

"You first" Ferb didn't even flinch

"Fine" too the shock of everyone Doofenshmirtz threw his gun ten feet away.

Being a man of his word Ferb put his gun down too. Phineas, Ferb and Isabella realized they made a mistake when they saw the smile grow on Doofenshmirtz. Ferb made to pick up his weapon again but was too late.

"If you don't want to die with me you will stop right their" Doofenshmirtz called out as he held up the switch in his hand.

"This triggers the explosives I have set all around this place. You see I never planned to beat you here Phineas Flynn I didn't even care about that loser" Doofenshmirtz motioned towards Baljeet who was still out "I had always planned to beat you one on one. Just you and me" Doofenshmirtz started walking towards the suit that lay a few feet to his left. He never took his eye off the boys.

"Why would I agree to a fair fight against you of all people?" Phineas asked while pushing Ferb and Isabella behind him

"Because you have my word it will be fair. One on one. No gadgets or gizmos. Just you and me, the last one standing wins" Doofenshmirtz was searching through the suit and soon rose to his feet holding two fuel cells.

"I refuse. I know you'll cheat" Phineas spoke

"Oh I forgot to mention that if you refuse I will push this switch. This whole place will come crashing down and everyone inside will be killed. Now what do you say?" Doofenshmirtz smiled as he watched Phineas realize the severity of his situation. After a few minutes Phineas finally spoke.

"How can you guarantee it'll be fair?"

"Easy…We will fight it in a different dimension" Doofenshmirtz stated but didn't seem to convince Phineas

"Look I invented these wrist devices. Each one is a transporter in itself. However if two are on in the same dimension they do not work. Also if one or more is active in any dimension than no one can cross over to that dimension. This ensures I can't cross over an army and your friends can't save you. Once only one is active it can be used to transport the wearer anywhere they imagine. So all you would have to do is imagine your house and you would be transported their immediately. That is if you can beat me" Doofenshmirtz let all this sink in before smiling to show he was waiting for a response.

"How do you deactivate them?" Phineas asked. He could feel the glare Ferb was giving him and the shock Isabella had for even considering going along with this.

"They are powered by the wearer's heart. The only way to deactivate it is to kill me" Doofenshmirtz smiled

Phineas's eyes widened when he heard this and soon he returned to deep thought. He knew his answer even before Doofenshmirtz was done talking about how those wrist devices worked. He was just afraid to let anyone know.

"If I agree you will spare their lives?" Phineas was double checking

"I swear" Doofenshmirtz tossed a device at Phineas who caught it.

"Fine" Phineas took a step forward. Doofenshmirtz smiled.

"PHINEAS!" Isabella couldn't believe her ears. Phineas had just agreed to a death match. The prize was the world the fate of the loser was death. She no longer hid the tears that started flowing freely down her face.

"Izzy don't worry. I know what I'm doing. I'll get out of this alive you just have to believe in me" Phineas pulled her into a hug and whispered in her ear

"But you could die…I can't live without you" Isabella pulled back to look into his eyes.

"You won't have too. Just believe in me and trust me to return. I promise I will return please wait for me. Give me some time" Phineas smiled as he pulled Isabella into a kiss. It lasted only a few seconds but it was enough to put her heart at ease.

"I'll give you all the time in the world" She smiled at him through tears.

"I love you Izzy" Phineas hugged her as he looked at Ferb who was showing a rare sign of emotion. He was crying and not trying to hide it.

"Ferb I want you to keep everyone safe for me…especially Isabella" Phineas started to walk towards the doctor who had inserted the fuel cells into the other dimensionator. He had pulled it out of the closet while they were talking.

"Why do you have to do this?" Isabella finally asked and was greeted with a smile

"Because I would gladly die to protect you" Phineas said as the other dimensionator was activated.

"I love you Izzy. I'll be back as soon as I can" Phineas jumped through the portal quickly followed by Doofenshmirtz.

"I LOVE YOU PHINEAS" Isabella cried out as the portal closed.

Ferb immediately ran up and tried to activate it again but it wouldn't work. He guessed the part about those wrist devices was true after all.

"Finally" Isabella and Ferb turned to find Perry and the good Doofenshmirtz in the door way

"I told you I wasn't good with directions and all you do is chatter at me" Doofenshmirtz stared around

"Where are Phineas and the evil guy?" Isabella started to cry.

(Other Dimension)

As soon as Phineas jumped over he turned to find Doofenshmirtz right behind him.

"Ok, now strap it on and press the center" Doofenshmirtz commanded. Phineas did as he was told and was greeted with a flashing light.

"If that light ever becomes a solid blue light then that means the other one is dead. That is the only way to get out of here" Doofenshmirtz smiled

Phineas just turned and ran. He didn't care where he just needed time to think. He had to make sure he was the winner but he really didn't want to kill anyone. He ran even as he heard laughter behind him.

"RUN PHINEAS FLYNN BECAUSE YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM ME. SOONER OR LATER YOU'LL HAVE TO FACE ME IF YOU EVER WANT TO SEE HER AGAIN" Doofenshmirtz laughed as he watched the boy run for dear life.

"This is going to be fun" Doofenshmirtz started running too.


	11. Chapter 11

Doofenshmirtz had gotten lost when everyone originally departed to find Phineas. Perry noticed a few minutes after they arrived and had gone back for him. He figured it would be better to have everyone together than split up. When Perry returned though he found the room was now missing two people.

"He's gone. He's really gone Ferb" Isabella said through teary eyes

Although Ferb wanted to comfort her and tell her Phineas would return shortly he couldn't. He couldn't get his mind off the fact there was something missing. Something in the room was missing but he couldn't put his finger on it. He went about the room trying to figure out what it was.

"So again where is Phineas and the other guy?" Doofenshmirtz said as he entered the room.

Isabella had calmed down enough to start talking. She caught them up to speed and could see the tears in Perry's eyes as she finished her story. Doofenshmirtz on the other hand seemed to lack emotion but how could she expect him to care? He had only known Phineas for a few days. Isabella was about to speak when they all heard a groan coming from the center of the room. As they turned they saw Baljeet struggling to sit up.

Isabella was pissed

She was about to knock Baljeet back out when she heard another groan from the far wall.

Buford stirred awake and was greeted with Perry and Isabella checking him over. After a few minutes though they told him he would be ok. Buford looked around the room and his eyes landed on Ferb, who stood motionless in the center of the room.

"What's with Ferb?" Buford tried to sit up but was pushed down by Perry

Isabella looked at Ferb and realized what Buford was talking about. He stood in the center of the room with his eyes wide and pure shock written on his face.

"Ferb, what's wrong?" Isabella asked and was greeted with silence. It was then that everyone started to worry. Ferb however worried the most as he finally realized what was missing in the room. He feared Phineas was led into a trap…and he let him go.

(Other Dimension)

Phineas had been running for about ten minutes when he finally felt a sharp pain in his chest. He dropped to the ground and started coughing, frantically trying to catch his breath. He covered his mouth with his hand as he tried to subdue the coughing and soon finally regained control. When he removed his hand however he was struck with the realization that he was very much vulnerable. His hand was covered with blood.

Wiping the blood on the ground Phineas turned to try and find the doctor. He spotted him almost instantly about forty meters behind him. He noticed the doctor was grabbing his foot and then he remembered that he had stabbed the doctor with a sharp shard from the table. This was obviously slowing him down quite a bit and even in Phineas's weakened state he seemed to be able to keep far enough away from Doofenshmirtz that he might be able to lose him. Phineas shakily got to his feet and started stumbling forward.

The dimension they were transported too seemed a lot like the forests back in his dimension. Full of trees, Sunlight, fruits and water. Oddly enough though, Phineas had yet to see one animal. He figured that he would see one sooner or later and put it out of his mind. The forest he was in was not very dense, which made walking a lot easier for both parties. This was both an asset and a disadvantage as it was easy for Phineas but equally easy for Doofenshmirtz. Soon Phineas realized that while he was admiring the scenery Doofenshmirtz had been closing in. Phineas turned to run and then it happened.

A tree limb exploded right beside his head. Shocked, Phineas instinctively dove to the ground. A few seconds later Phineas rolled onto his back and looked back at Doofenshmirtz. His eyes widened when he saw what Doofenshmirtz was holding. In his hand he was holding a gun which was still smoking.

"YOU PROMISED ME IT WOULD BE FAIR" Phineas Screamed as he ducked behind a tree.

"It is fair" Doofenshmirtz slowly advanced

"How is a weapon fair? You promised no weapons" Phineas was freaking out trying to figure out what he could do

"I said no gizmos or gadgets. This is a simple pistol that was already created. It is fair as far as I am concerned" Doofenshmirtz still advancing towards the tree he was sure Phineas was behind

Phineas was looking around trying to figure out how to escape. It didn't matter that Doofenshmirtz had bent the rules because right now it was kill or be killed. He could now hear the doctor's footsteps as he got closer and closer. Eyes darting back and forth Phineas finally decided what he would do.

Doofenshmirtz was slowly making his way towards the tree and when he was within a few feet he stopped. He was hoping to play with Phineas's mind a little and not make a sound. Build the suspense before he killed him. Finally it was too much and he bolted around the tree ready to finish it but before he could level the gun Phineas made his move.

As soon as Doofenshmirtz made his move Phineas turned around and with a hand full of dirt threw it right in the doctors' eyes. Doofenshmirtz fell back from the shock and landed hard. He was wiping his eyes trying to clear his vision. When he finally cleared his eyes enough to see he realized that Phineas had escaped him. Now he was furious. Doofenshmirtz got up and started walking in the direction he thought Phineas had gone.

"DAMN! That hurts" Doofenshmirtz kept wiping his eyes.

(Danville)

Ferb had returned to the back yard after having a conversation with Candace. Apparently she wasn't too happy to find out Phineas wouldn't be back for an undetermined amount of time, he left out the part where he might not return at all for a reason.

"How did it go?" Isabella asked while she hugged her knees under their tree.

Ferb just stuck his finger in his ear to show he got yelled at pretty harshly. Although Major Monogram, after being debriefed on what happened, came up with a story about Phineas being involved in a school transfer program that would last for an undetermined amount of time. Everyone who knew was still sad and they knew they had to feign like Phineas was still alive for his family's sake. Whenever they could though Buford, Ferb and Isabella would gather in the back yard and try to figure out what they could do.

Baljeet however had been taken to the OWCA and had been placed under 24 hour surveillance. Major Monogram had at first been resistant to the idea after the Doofenshmirtz incident but had relented after Ferb explained Baljeet would be unable to escape while Doofenshmirtz was in a different dimension.

"Ferb is there anything we can do?" Isabella asked begging him to come up with something

Ferb however knew that it was up to Phineas to get himself out of this. He trusted what the doctor said about the wrist devices to be true. He would never tell Isabella this though.

"He'll be ok"

"But Doofenshmirtz has the gun" Isabella still wouldn't look up

Ferb did the one thing he could think of. He patted her shoulder to show he knew what she was going through. Sadly Ferb also thought Phineas might be in deep trouble. He just refused to make Isabella sadder because he promised to protect her. That was one promise he intended to never break.

(Other dimension)

After escaping Doofenshmirtz, Phineas started trying to find a place he could make a small home out of. He was starting to realize that maybe he would have to kill Doofenshmirtz after all. Doofenshmirtz was set on killing him and he knew if he ever wanted to see Isabella again he would have to end his life. He didn't want to think about it right now and so pushed the thoughts from his mind. In the distance he heard thunder. Maybe it rained in this dimension too.

It took a few hours but Phineas finally found a small cave that would suit him just fine. It went back about ten feet and was about seven feet high. It was dug into the side of a mountain but would protect him from the cold and rain. He went to turn around and grab some wood to try and make a fire when there was a flash of light.

Instinctively Phineas hit the ground afraid he was being shot at again. He soon heard the thunder and realized it must have been lightening. He slowly sat up and stared out the mouth of the cave as the rain started to fall. Phineas just sat quietly in his cave as he listened to the sounds of this forest. Water hitting the leaves, puddles forming and yet still no animals. As he watched he started hoping that Doofenshmirtz would catch something and die without him having to do anything. He laughed as he realized how easy this could be.

(A few weeks later)

Phineas was hiding high in a tree attempting to get a banana for lunch. He had a few encounters with Doofenshmirtz in the past few weeks while out looking for food. Realization set in during that time that Doofenshmirtz was not going to die simply because Phineas wanted him too and so Phineas started getting a little more creative. He had started making traps and also weapons, like spears and a wooden bow with sharpened arrows, to protect him. Both were constantly trying to find the other to gain an upper hand. This was hard though as Phineas had to balance making weapons, searching for Doofenshmirtz and most importantly keeping fed and hydrated.

However Phineas didn't want to find Doofenshmirtz to kill him but maybe gain some leverage over the mad doctor. If he could settle this and maybe find a way around the wrist device he could return without having to resort to his final plan. After the gun incident it was obvious to Phineas the doctor might not have told him everything about these devices and might have been keeping some things secret.

As Phineas grabbed his banana he started eating when he noticed movement from the bushes below him. Crouching down he watched as Doofenshmirtz appeared. He had altered his uniform to be a little more camouflaged. He had stained his outfit green and brown with leaves and dirt making him a little harder to spot. However being in the air he was easily spotted by Phineas who was now almost directly above him. Phineas considered jumping on top of him but was soon stopped when he heard him talking.

"This kid is good. I was sure I would have killed him by now. This would be so much easier if I could figure out how this stupid tracking system works" Doofenshmirtz began fiddling with the wrist device "I built it and yet I don't remember how to access it, jeez. Oh well as long as I have this I'll be fine" Doofenshmirtz pulled the gun from his waist and started looking around like he knew someone was there.

Phineas was now holding his breath hoping the doctor wouldn't look up. If he was to die now just after finding out about a so called tracking system inside the wrist devices he would have failed everyone. He just stayed hidden as Doofenshmirtz kept looking around. Finally Phineas let out his breath as he saw Doofenshmirtz leave. His next stop would be the water hole to get a drink. Then he had some work to do.

The next few days Phineas spent inside his cave trying to figure out the wrist device. If there was a tracker embedded in it then all he had to do was crack it before Doofenshmirtz and he would be able to finish this. However that proved difficult because unlike Doofenshmirtz, Phineas knew nothing more about this device then that doctor had told him at the beginning. So every time he fiddled with it he would get scared that he would mess it up and be unable to return home. This caused Phineas to lose days in precious time that he could have used for resupplying his food and water.

(Danville: 3 months later)

The kids had started school again and everyone was heartbroken when they heard Phineas had been transferred. They kept asking Ferb and Isabella when he would return which got a shrug from Ferb and Isabella an awkward smile.

What hurt the most for Isabella though was having to lie to her fireside girls about Phineas's transfer.

"Isabella it's been 3 months…maybe you should move on" Ginger kindly stated as they were eating lunch.

"WHAT!?" Isabella's outburst drew the attention of almost everyone in the room. She quickly settled down.

"Why would you say that?" Isabella asked after everyone returned to their meals.

"I am just thinking aloud here chief. You've been gloomy ever since he was transferred and it has affected your skills in the group. Look all I am saying is there are a lot of guys here that find you cute and maybe it wouldn't hurt to talk with a few" Ginger left before Isabella could respond.

"Told you to forget about Phineas eh?" Isabella shot her head up to meet Ferb

"Yeah…I don't know what to do Ferb. I will never stop waiting for him and yet Ginger was right when she said it was affecting my duties as chief of the fire side girls. I'm just a mess" Isabella took a bite from her sandwich to give Ferb a chance to respond.

"As far as I see it Phineas is still alive otherwise we would have heard from Doofenshmirtz. Maybe you need to..." Ferb was cut off by a sharp pain "Did you feel that?" Ferb looked to Isabella with concern.

"Yeah. A sharp pain in my chest" Isabella replied "I wonder why?"

(Other Dimension)

Phineas was at the water hole refilling his jugs he made out of tree bark. He had been so engrossed he didn't even know he was being watched. The attack came from out of nowhere.

Phineas had just bent down to fill up his last jug when he felt a pair of hands on the back of his neck. The next thing he knew his head had been forced under the water and he couldn't break free. He struggled with all his might he just couldn't break the hold around his neck. Pretty soon he started getting dizzy and he even attempted to take a breath which he was greeted with a lung full of water. He felt his heart rate slowly dropping and everything going dark. He felt weak. His arms dangling in the water almost limp. His last thoughts were of Ferb and Isabella.

Suddenly his hand brushed up against something. It was long and wooden by the feel of it and it was attached to him. Suddenly he realized what he was touching. He frantically used all his strength to grab the shaft of his spear and with a quick movement thrust it back at his attacker. He felt the grip on his neck loosen before pulling back.

Phineas broke the surface of the water gasping for air. Each inhale a struggle to expel the water that now resided in his lungs. He slowly started to regulate his breathing and then he heard it.

"YOU STUPID SON OF A….I WILL KILL YOU" Doofenshmirtz now stood on the bank of the pool and had fury written all over his face. Phineas noticed he was cupping his hands and when he looked closer he realized why. The tip of his spear had punctured the stomach of Doofenshmirtz and he was now trying desperately to hold back the blood. Phineas realized that this could be his chance, his one chance to get out of here. He picked up his spear and advanced.

As soon as Doofenshmirtz saw this he started walking backwards in a hasty retreat. Keeping both hands on his open wound he just backed up.

"Hey kid, cool it. I didn't mean anything by it I was just angry about the wound" Doofenshmirtz stumbled but caught himself. Phineas didn't even say a word. He was now on the bank and closing the distance between him and the doctor.

"Stop…Hey please stop" Doofenshmirtz stumbled over his feet and this time landed on the ground facing Phineas. Phineas closed the gap quickly and quickly had his spear in the ready position.

"Whoa…HEY! STOP!...let's talk this through" Doofenshmirtz was clutching at straws. Phineas brought the point of the spear above his head and readied himself to bring it down. It would take only a few seconds. He would be back home with Ferb, mom, dad, Candace, Buford, every one of his friends and most importantly Isabella. Phineas flinched when he realized how close he was to ending a life. In that split second he realized…he couldn't kill Doofenshmirtz.

Sensing something was wrong Doofenshmirtz decided to take action. He had left his pistol at his camp because he was only expecting to grab some water and head back. Finding Phineas was a bonus but left him completely unprepared.

However when he noticed Phineas flinch he sprang into action. Leaping up he kicked Phineas in the face knocking the boy to the ground. Then the sharp pain struck his stomach and he realized he couldn't win at this rate. While Phineas was still recovering Doofenshmirtz made his move. He ran and he knew where he was going. He was going to patch himself up and grab his pistol and then finish Phineas off for good. He didn't realize he was leaving a trail of blood.

Phineas on the other hand could hardly believe he just let his one chance escape. He saw the blood trail but instead of following it he just got up, dusted himself off and grabbed his water. He slowly made his way back to camp and sat down.

He let his one chance to escape slip through his hands all because he couldn't kill him. Phineas hung his head low.

He was going to lose.


	12. Chapter 12

Doofenshmirtz had just made it back to camp when he saw the blood trail. Cursing under his breath he hastily started searching for something to patch himself up with. He really had not planned to be in this predicament and had not brought any medical supplies. However he was a doctor and he would fix himself up. Surveying his surrounding he was pleased with what he had to work with.

Quickly, he grabbed some long, thick grass and tied them together to make a sturdy rope. He then tore off a large portion of his suit and wrapped it around him covering the wound. Tying the grass rope around the suits fabric created a lot of pain but it did help stop the bleeding. After a few minutes he was satisfied with his job and quickly got his gun. He knew Phineas would follow the blood trail and he would follow it right back and meet him. Doofenshmirtz exited camp determined to meet Phineas.

(Danville: one and a half years after Phineas and Doofenshmirtz left)

"Hey Isabella" Ginger and Holly both spoke in unison.

"Meet Alex" They both pushed Alex towards Isabella.

Alex stood about 4 foot 5 and was a teen heart throb at school. Almost every girl had a crush on him but for some odd reason he was drawn to the one girl who showed no interest. The fire side girls had tried desperately to get Isabella to date someone and went through almost every guy in school before ending with their trump card Alex.

"Hey, Isabella. I was wondering if you wanted to go to the school dance with me this Friday?" Alex smiled his best smile

Isabella who had been, up until this point, not paying attention turned around from her book and faced him. She was actually shocked at what she saw. Alex was well built and was very charming. His features rivaled only that of Phineas in her mind. She realized she was staring and turned away quickly with a mad blush on her cheeks.

"Sorry Alex. You are sweet but I am waiting on another boy to ask me" Isabella tried to make it look like she was reading again so they would leave.

"Oh come on Isabella. Phineas isn't coming back for a stupid dance. He didn't come back last year and he won't come back this year. You have got to stop mauling around over him and move on" Gretchen said as she walked up from a distance. She was listening to the conversation and decided she needed to act.

"I said no" Isabella didn't even look up from her book.

"Chief…" Isabella cut her off

"I SAID NO" Isabella still didn't look up from her book but her tone told the other girls to leave. Although they were upset with her attitude she was still the chief and the three girls decided to depart. Alex wasn't far behind. Isabella sort of scared him.

"Why didn't you say yes girly?" Isabella looked up to see Buford and Ferb standing close by

"You just don't understand" Isabella now realized why Ferb read so much. It allowed him to make limited conversation and redirect her attention away from her thoughts.

"I wouldn't would I?" Buford just stopped. He knew nothing he could say would change anything and he was fairly certain he would end up in a cast if he continued

Ferb on the other hand decided to sit down next to Isabella and produced his own book. He knew she wasn't in the mood to talk right now but only he had the patience to wait her out right now. He opened his book and began reading.

"I'll see you guys later I got some things to take care of" Buford just left the two sitting their

Ferb knew she would talk, he just didn't know how long it would take. He was praying to finish his book first though.

(Other Dimension)

Phineas had stopped looking for Doofenshmirtz after the incident at the watering hole. He now only kept a few spears on him for self-defence and only made trips out when he needed food, water or to use the bathroom. The rest of the time he just spent working out. Doing push ups, sit ups and other various forms of physical activity. He was pleased with the results.

He had been outgrowing his old clothes and so redesigned them to fit his larger body type. His new wardrobe was a crude sewing job of his shirt and pants to making for free flowing trousers, he no longer needed a shirt. He was still relatively short standing at about 4 feet but thanks to working out over a year he now had quite the build to him. Although not very noticeable he was quite strong for his age. He was also faster than he used to be. He was proud of himself and every now and then when he had some down time he would try and figure out the tracking device on the wrist transporter.

It was about mid-morning right after he returned from gathering water that he decided to take another crack at the tracking system. He sat down near the mouth of the cave and looked at the device attached to his arm. The band had been made out of a rubber like steel substance. It would expand and contract with the wearer but was also very strong and not easily broken. He had spent the last while working hard to crack it, and seeing Doofenshmirtz had not found him yet he was certain he still hadn't cracked it either. He knew it would be something obvious, easily over looked but always right there in front of you, but what?

The device was quite simple in design. It was oval shaped with a large glass screen in the center that would blink a blue light every few seconds. He timed it perfectly; the light would flash every 3 seconds on the dot. He didn't know why he needed that information but he figured it out just cause he could. Now to the more pressing matter; how was this supposed to be a tracking device?

He found staring at it did nothing and yet that is what he usually resorted to doing as if the answer was going to jump out and slap him in the face. That never happened of course all he got was a blinking light. Blue…three seconds later…blue…three seconds later…blue. It was a never ending cycle. All it told him was that Doofenshmirtz was still alive and that didn't matter. He heard a rustling outside the cave.

Phineas shot up and grabbed a spear from the ground, he was down too three as he discarded the rest for fear they be used against him. Phineas quickly dropped to the ground and lay prone. Slowly lifting his head to look out the mouth of the cave. Although it was windy he couldn't hear any bushes rustling and didn't see a reason they should be. He started getting paranoid as he observed his surrounding and then slowly slumped back inside the cave. He wouldn't let go of the spear.

Phineas cautiously returned his attention to the wrist device but never put his weapon down. He began tapping the screen with the tip of his spear in unison with the blue light. For the next few seconds, every three to be exact, he would tap the screen just as the blue light came on. He also had his ear trained on the mouth of the cave just waiting for another noise. He was half distracted and didn't realize what he was doing when he started taping the screen every second. That's when he noticed it.

Every time he tapped the screen the blue light would flash. The three seconds was a default but the light would flash whenever you touched the screen. He threw his head back wondering how he ever over looked that. It was so simple. It was obviously a sort of code within a three second interval that Doofenshmirtz had input to access the tracking system. That was why the default flash was three seconds. Now all he had to do was figure out the code.

It would obviously be something Doofenshmirtz would remember pretty easily but what? Phineas tried to think of what Doofenshmirtz would input within a three second time frame. It could be a date, name or anything that could be translated into a quick tap of the screen. Phineas started to focus more and more attention to the device but always kept one ear open for any movement that he didn't make.

The wind had picked up and he was now hearing a lot of rustling coming from outside the cave. He decided to focus what little attention he had on sounds that could only be made by an animal, or human. His ears searched for footsteps or heavy breathing while the rest of him focused on the device.

The code would have to be quick and instant, and knowing Doofenshmirtz, fairly easy. He started with simple tests such as tapping the screen every second and then every two seconds. He followed by tapping the screen a second after the blue light flashed and a second before the next blue light. After, he tried tapping 2 seconds in between flashes and still nothing worked. He was running out of ideas when he remembered something. They had beaten Doofenshmirtz on three separate occasions and each time was different. The first time it was him and Perry against Doofenshmirtz, the next time it was him, Buford, Isabella and Perry as a team. The final time was him, Buford and Ferb; he only counted people involved in the actual fighting. 2 people beat him then it took 4 and then 3. Phineas decided to try some math.

2X4-3=5.

"That can't be right" Phineas began thinking up as many possibilities as he could.

2-4-3=-1

2+4-3=3

2/4+/-3=5/-1

"None of these are useable" Phineas was starting to frustrate himself. Maybe the answer wasn't in how many people they had but how many people Doofenshmirtz had. Let's see, he had himself then he had him and me then him and Baljeet" Phineas just dropped his head as he realized these were too complicated. The answer was so simple it was impossible for him to figure out.

"Why three" Phineas began pondering. "What was so special about three?" Phineas started thinking again and still couldn't get an answer.

"Stop thinking logically and just think stupid now" He punched himself in the head, which hurt by the way.

He began tapping the device again counting to three out loud.

"One…two…three…one…two…three…a half…one…one and a half…two…two..." Phineas's eyes shot open. There was no way it was so simple. How could it be? Not even he would think of it in a million years had he tried to think rationally. He looked down at his device and started to time the seconds.

"Half" It took half a second to lose his first fight when his other self gave him that train. In a way he had wasted half of a full second and if his calculations were correct that would account for six months.

"One" He spent one year in jail before breaking out and returning to fight them again.

"One and a half" He pushed the screen. It took him a year and a half to plan everything out to the last detail. Too plan his revenge. Too get him to the point where I would cross the other dimensionator.

The screen flashed blue and then it stopped. And soon a blinking blue dot appeared in the middle of the screen "That must be me…and it looks like it's searching for the other device" Phineas said as he watched the screen awaiting its response.

Doofenshmirtz had timed it three seconds because every half a second represented six months. And each second a year. It would be so simple to remember pushing the screen exactly half way if you knew what to look for. The next one and a half years would be used to take over Danville again. The middle of the cycle was the present day. The screen flashed back a red dot.

"That must be him" Phineas studied the dots

"That can't be right…they are overlapping…but that would mean" Phineas turned around and was staring down the barrel of a gun.

"I found you" Doofenshmirtz pulled the trigger.

(Danville)

"So Isabella if you are not going to the dance with a date then how about you go with me and we can just hang out?" Ferb had finished his book in record time and decided waiting time was over.

Isabella didn't respond at first but she kept her head buried in her book.

Ferb just waited patiently for a response.

"We would go as friend's right?" Isabella asked through the book

"Of course it would be an opportunity to get your mind off this whole ordeal and maybe get some fun back into your life" Ferb got up

"Ok" Isabella squeaked as she buried her head deeper in her book trying to hide her face from Ferb

"I'll see you in two days" Ferb left Isabella who had now lowered the book and was sitting alone. This was going to suck; was all she could think.

(Other Dimension)

Phineas did a half roll half lung to the ground a split second before the gun went off. He swore he felt the bullet graze him but he didn't have time to check himself. He didn't want to risk attacking with his spear and striking Doofenshmirtz, or worse, making him back away and get an actual shot off. Instead Phineas jumped to his feet and grabbed the barrel of the gun with both hands throwing him and Doofenshmirtz outside the cave.

They both rolled down a slight hill and onto level ground, neither one of them releasing the gun. Two more shots were fired but both went in a different direction and away from the two fighting for it.

Doofenshmirtz was surprised at how strong this boy had become in the short time they had been here. He realized that this whole time his only real workout was walking around trying to find Phineas but Phineas had obviously been using his time more valuably. With a quick roll Doofenshmirtz now lay on top of Phineas and was desperately trying to force the barrel of the gun down.

Phineas however saw this and slowly, without sacrificing grip, brought his hand up to Doofenshmirtz's trigger finger. Phineas then began forcing Doofenshmirtz to pull the trigger by applying pressure on and off. A total of five shots were fired before Doofenshmirtz wiggled Phineas's finger free of the trigger. Doofenshmirtz knew he only had a few shots left and this was frightening to him because he had once again underestimated Phineas and had left any other weapon he might have had back at camp. He was so sure he could just end it with a gun that he became foolish and was now paying the price.

Phineas on the other hand wasn't sure how many shots the doctor had left but by how much effort he was using to still push the barrel in his direction Phineas knew there was at least one. He knew Doofenshmirtz would never let him get his finger back around the trigger so he had to come up with a new plan. A sharp pain in his groin cut him off though as Doofenshmirtz quickly brought a knee to Phineas's groin. The pain was unbearable but Phineas still didn't release his hold of the gun. He watched as Doofenshmirtz brought his knee up again and noticed he had all his weight balanced to one side.

Phineas quickly shifted all his weight to the left and sent him flying upward and on top of Doofenshmirtz. Without hesitation he threw all his might into lowering the gun and then brought his head down on the bridge of Doof's nose. Both cried out on pain.

Doofenshmirtz and Phineas had dropped the gun and were now rolling around massaging their heads. Doofenshmirtz was bleeding from his nose while Phineas had struck his eye on Doofenshmirtz's chin, and it struck hard. Neither of them realized the other had dropped the gun until they looked at each other. Phineas through his one good eye and Doofenshmirtz with his hand holding back a bunch of blood. The gun was laying closer to Doofenshmirtz and both knew it, which caused the mad doctor to smile and lunge for the gun. Phineas did the only thing he could think of…He got up and started to run.

Doofenshmirtz quickly seized the gun and fired off four shots at Phineas. The first two went wild but the third had struck Phineas right in the back of his left leg. The forth shot also went wild but the third was all that mattered. It was a clean shot as it went right through his leg but it didn`t stop him. As soon as Doofenshmirtz saw Phineas continue to run he forced himself up and started chasing him.

"You can run Flynn but the end is here. Come and face me now…come and face DEATH" Doofenshmirtz called out as he started a jog towards his rival

The words stung Phineas almost as much as his leg stung from the bullet that just tore through his flesh. He never stopped moving though. He could hear Doofenshmirtz closing in on him though. He couldn't stop, he wouldn't stop.

"STOP RIGHT THEIR OR I'LL SHOOT" Phineas froze…Doofenshmirtz was only a few yards behind him and he knew at this range, with his leg in this state, there would be no missing. He felt the smile creep across the face of Doofenshmirtz as he heard the trigger being pulled. He closed his eyes.

Click

Phineas's eyes shot open when he heard that. He knew exactly what that sound meant. The gun was empty.

Turning on his one good foot Phineas turned to face Doofenshmirtz.

"Put that gun down and fight me one on one like you promised all those months ago" Phineas was now furious

Doofenshmirtz realizing the gun was useless decided to discard it. Throwing it into the tall grass to his right he stared down Phineas.

"I didn't think I would be stuck here this long. I thought I could kill you in a few hours and then return to Danville and reclaim what was rightfully mine" Doofenshmirtz started a slow walk towards Phineas.

"You were a fool. All you cared about was power and never gave any thought to the people you hurt" Phineas started a hobbling walk towards the doctor.

"HAH! You never cared about anyone other than that girl. Admit it Phineas, you are as shallow as me, only thinking about what will make you happy. I bet I could have killed you friends, your brother even your family and that pet and as long as I spared that girl you would have been ok with it all" Doofenshmirtz was now a few feet away from Phineas and stopped

"YOU LIE!" Phineas shouted

"ADMIT IT. YOU CARE ONLY ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR HAPPINESS. PHINEAS FLYNN YOU ARE JUST LIKE ME" Doofenshmirtz had started laughing at this and threw his head back.

Phineas was now beyond fury he was straight up pissed off. He surveyed his surroundings. To his left was tall grass which he could use to escape…SCREW ESCAPE. Turning around was no option either and Doofenshmirtz would not run away. This was their final stand. Phineas looked to his right as Doofenshmirtz continued to laugh and found they were actually on the edge of a cliff. He knew what he was going to do.

The next thing Doofenshmirtz knew Phineas had tackled him to the ground. Phineas began throwing punches one after the other targeting Doofenshmirtz's face, torso and especially his rib cage.

Doofenshmirtz was surprised at how strong Phineas had become. With each strike it was becoming harder to breath, and he couldn't defend himself against the onslaught. He was pretty sure he heard one of his ribs crack. He tried to roll to his right but Phineas stopped him and kept throwing punches. Doofenshmirtz rolled to his left and found Phineas rolled with him but this was to his demise as he realized Phineas threw himself into the roll and had ended up on top of him again. After another punch Doofenshmirtz heard another rib crack. Breathing was hard and he had to gasp between his teeth. He started tasting blood and knew he was in serious trouble. Then suddenly the onslaught stopped. Doofenshmirtz felt Phineas get off of him and he smiled.

"Still can't kill me huh?" Doofenshmirtz said before coughing up some blood.

"Not quite" Phineas said as he landed a kick sending the doctor rolling. He heard the doctor wheeze for air but Phineas didn't care he was hell bent on finishing this. He kicked him again and this time Doofenshmirtz rolled over the side of the cliff.

Doofenshmirtz realized what Phineas was doing the instant he fell over the cliff. He shot his hand out and managed to grab hold of a stray rock jutting out the side. As he opened his eyes he realized just how dangerous this was. The hole was not a few feet deep but more or less fifty feet. This height would kill him in a heartbeat.

"Still alive?" Doofenshmirtz looked up into the eyes of Phineas. He recognized that look. It was madness and anger overwhelming him. This was bad.

"Please…Please help me. I know a way around the wrist devices. I can send you home you just have to trust me" Doofenshmirtz pleaded as his hand started to slip.

"Why would I trust you after all this?" Phineas was unconcerned.

"Because I am about to die and there is no need for that…What would your parents say if they found out?" Doofenshmirtz lost more grip

"I'd never tell and they would never ask" Phineas was just watching him struggle now

"WHAT ABOUT YOUR GIRLFRIEND? SHE'D KNOW IF YOU WERE LIEING RIGHT? NOW PLEASE HELP ME!" Doofenshmirtz screamed as he almost lost his entire grip

Realization came flooding back into Phineas. This wasn't him. How could he return home and face his friends, his family, his…Isabella if he killed someone in cold blood. He couldn't, if he did kill someone on purpose he would just transport himself to a different dimension to live out the rest of his life alone. He would abandon everyone.

"HELP ME!" Doofenshmirtz lost all grip but never fell. When he looked up he found Phineas had grabbed his arm and was holding onto another rock for leverage.

"How do you get around the wrist devices?" Phineas asked quickly.

Doofenshmirtz smiled and wrapped his hand in a death grip with Phineas's.

"You know when I transport back to your dimension I am going to appear in your back yard. It will be such a treat to watch as your friends and family see me emerge as the victor. I said there was a way around the wrist devices and I didn't lie. The way around them is that one of us has to die and that one is you" Doofenshmirtz pulled himself up and then let all his weight fall as he yanked Phineas towards the edge of the cliff

"YOU IDIOT! YOU'LL DIE TOO!" Phineas screamed as he started losing his grip on his rock

"No, I will simply make sure you die first and it'll only take a split second to imagine your back yard and be transported their" Doofenshmirtz again pulled himself up and let his weight draw Phineas closer.

Phineas released his hold on the doctor but Doofenshmirtz still held onto him. As Doofenshmirtz brought his weight up again ready to drop and send them both down to their death Phineas realized something. All he had to do was get free of the doctors grasp and then he would be the winner. He wouldn't have killed him but rather Doofenshmirtz would have committed suicide. He would not be a murderer. Phineas knew what he had to do.

Before Doofenshmirtz dropped his weight Phineas let go of the rock. He let go just as Doofenshmirtz dropped his weight and Phineas's hand slipped out of his grasp. They were both plummeting towards death but only one of them was going to die.

As they fell they each thought of Phineas's back yard.

One for Revenge and one on his way home.

A split second would decide the fate of everyone.

(Danville)

"Alright let's get going. I'm hungry" Buford stood up

"We ate 20 minutes ago" Ferb stated

"Yeah but I'm still hungry. Let's go and get some snack for the movie" Buford began walking towards the gate

"I guess we have no choice now" Isabella stood up and followed with Ferb close in tow.

"Buford slow down" Isabella called as she saw how far ahead he had gotten once they reached the front yard

"This'll be fun" Ferb put his hand on Isabella's shoulder to show he was happy she decided to join them.

"Yeah" Isabella said as her and Ferb raced to catch up to Buford.

Nobody noticed the flash of blue emanate from the back yard of the Flynn-Fletcher house.


	13. Chapter 13

It would have taken less than a second for Ferb, Isabella or even Buford to turn around and notice an ominous glow of blue emanating from Ferb's back yard. Yet no one looked back.

The victor had been decided.

(Flynn-Fletcher backyard)

It took only a few seconds to be transported but it felt like hours, this must be an unexpected side effect of the instant transportation. All he wanted to do was sleep but soon the suns last emitting rays were too much and he finally relented in getting up. As he sat up and looked around realization sunk in that he had won…HE WON!

It took a few attempts to get over the effects of the instant transportation but he was soon on his feet. He slowly made his way towards the two sliding glass doors at the back of the house. Slowly but surely he made it and used the handle of the door to prop himself back up. He peered through the glass door and took a look inside. His eyes fell on a calendar with the dates crossed off up to today's date. He smiled.

"Thursday…hmmm" He had an idea and was about to leave when he finally focused on his reflection in the glass doors. His clothes were dirty, torn to shreds and covered in blood; he himself was no better. This was not how he wanted to announce his return. He needed a new suit. He started walking towards the back gate, slowly, thinking about what kind of suit he wanted.

He was thinking something…Black

(Ferb, Isabella and Buford)

A few hours later the three friends were walking home from the movies.

"That was a great movie" Isabella praised

"Yeah I liked all the fighting" Buford threw a few air punches

"It was so sad to see the butler cry at the end when he thought Batman was dead" Isabella and Buford had kept praising how good The Dark Knight Rises was. Ferb would have enjoyed it more had Buford not talked through most of the movie with his insight on what he would do. The only reason Ferb put up with it at all was because Isabella had finally gotten her mind off Phineas and he didn't want to ruin that.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow. Remember no school cause of the dance" Buford ran into his house and left Ferb and Isabella to walk home alone.

Most of the walk was done in silence, mostly because Ferb didn't speak much and Isabella didn't know what to say. Eventually though the silence was broken.

"Thanks Ferb" Isabella said with her arms tucked up to her chest.

"You're welcome" Ferb said not exactly knowing why

"You really helped get my mind of Phineas for a few hours. That is something I've been unable to do for almost two years now. I really am grateful" Isabella just walked in silence after that. One question still gnawing at her.

"Well?" Ferb asked which startled her out of her daze

"What?" Isabella asked trying to regain her composure

"What do you want to ask me?" Ferb was now looking in her direction letting her know he wasn't going to give up until she told him.

"Well….I uhhhh" Isabella kept stuttering trying to think if asking Ferb was the right thing to do. She eventually decided she needed to ask someone, and someone who would give her an honest opinion.

"Should I reconsider going to the dance with Alex? I mean he is cute and everyone says he likes me but I'm not sure if it would be the right thing to do" Isabella decided to shut up and let Ferb respond. She could see he was thinking of how to respond from his expression in the street lights as they passed under them. It was getting dark and cold and they were almost home when Ferb finally spoke.

"I think you should do whatever your heart tells you. If your heart says to wait for Phineas then wait but if it says consider going out with Alex then maybe consider that. All I know is you have to do what you think is best for you" Ferb let that sink in as he started walking for his back yard. He had gotten into the habit of always entering and exiting his house through the back door in hopes of finding Phineas in the back yard one day. His days usually started and ended in disappointment.

He waved at her as he entered the back yard.

Isabella was left to think over everything that had happened in the past year and a half. She entered her house and went to bed with a heavy mind.

(Flynn-Fletcher backyard)

Had it not been for the new motion sensor light in the back yard Ferb would have gone and entered the house without noticing something strange.

Fortunately the back yard was bathed in light and he immediately saw a circular shaped pattern burnt in the grass. Ferb was instantly curious about what it was and what caused it, so he decided to inspect it further.

Ferb made his way up to the circular pattern in the grass and started looking it over. It was about six feet in diameter. The edges of the circle were where the grass was most burnt compared to the area within the circle. This was such an odd occurrence that Ferb didn't know what to think. Suddenly the back yard was flooded with darkness again and Ferb shot his gaze up to search the area.

It was pitch black and he couldn't see anything. No one was home so all the lights were off so there was no light source. Slowly Ferb started moving towards the house keeping an ear peeled for anything, lately he had been paranoid that Doofenshmirtz would come back and get him in the night.

His fear was that during the night, maybe when he got up to use the bathroom or get a drink, he would be ambushed by Doofenshmirtz. He would be gagged and bound before seeing it was really him and then he would taunt him with the knowledge that Phineas was dead. He even had nightmares where this would happen except instead of saying Phineas was dead he would hold up Phineas's decapitated head.

This nightmare was the cause of sever screaming that would awake the whole house. He would always make up some excuse as to why he screamed and Linda and Lawrence were always willing to believe but for some reason Candace was always suspicious. She even attempted to convince Ferb and the gang to make a dream projector to see what was really happening inside his head. He always refused.

Back in the yard thought Ferb was about five meters from the door but all he wanted to do was turn on the lights and make sure the yard was clear. With a quick jump the sensor caught his movement and the yard was flooded in light again. Quickly he ran back to the circle, after seeing the yard was clear, and began studying it.

After a minute he determined it was either caused by the mysterious force that always made their inventions disappear or that it was created by a ship or something landing in that spot, which was believable since he knew an alien named Meep. Then the yard was flooded in darkness again and when Ferb turned to make his way back to the house his eyes sprung open. The kitchen light was now on.

Suppressing a scream Ferb slowly made his way to the glass doors, this time sliding along the side of the house so as not to set off the motion sensor and alert whoever was inside to his presence. His vivid nightmare began coming back to him as he feared when he opened the door he would be bound and gagged and tormented by Doofenshmirtz.

He finally made it to the door, without setting off the motion sensor, and slowly opened the door. He slinked inside and made his way silently towards the kitchen. He could feel his heart racing as he sided up beside the door. It took all his courage to peer inside and when he did.

"Hey Ferb" Candace greeted and was greeted with a terrified scream from Ferb

"FERB! WHAT'S WRONG?" Candace took two seconds to get to her brothers side. All Ferb could do was hug her and stifle his cries. He hated these fears that haunted him, he hated them so much.

Candace did the only thing she could. She held Ferb to reassure him there was nothing wrong. She was secretly worried but had to be brave, if not herself then for Ferb.

Ferb retired to bed when he regained his composure and even though Candace demanded to know what was wrong Ferb just said his fears were getting the best of him. She was seriously worried but knew he would tell her what was eating him when he was good and ready.

That night screams awoke the family as Ferb relived his nightmare.

(The next day: Flynn-Fletcher backyard)

Ferb, Isabella and Buford were standing around the mysterious circle still burnt into the grass. Neither of them had any idea what, or who, made it. Ferb explained his ideas and they were quickly dismissed.

The mysterious force was dismissed because they didn't have an invention in the yard to get rid of so the mysterious force would be useless and if it had been Meep then why didn't he say hi to them?

"I just don't know Ferb. It seems this could have been caused by anything" Isabella was still staring at the grass while Buford and Ferb retired to the shade of the tree.

"It's probably nothing. Just some ray of light too hot hitting the grass in that area or something" Buford reclined against the tree

"Something created this and I am determined to figure out what" Isabella kept studying the ground

"Don't forget about the dance tonight either. You have exactly twelve hours to figure this out" Ferb explained knowing the time wasn't really important but he wanted to remind her so she didn't forget.

Ferb knew Isabella wanted to figure this out but he also wanted to make sure she went to the dance because she was finally having fun and he wanted her to continue having fun. Spending all day in his back yard was sure to bring back memories and he didn't want that, not now at least.

"I haven't forgotten Ferb" Isabella was no longer even looking up to talk.

It was really starting to bug Isabella. She had a gut feeling she should know what this was but she couldn't figure it out. Six feet in diameter, the outer circle of grass burnt, the grass in the center was flat. Then she noticed that there was an outline where the grass was almost completely flat rather than just bent. Almost as if something was laying there.

"Ferb I think I found a clue" Isabella called and soon Ferb was right beside her

"Look here" she outlined the area in the center "It's flatter then the surrounding grass. It's like something was laying here and then it moved" Isabella waited for a response

Ferb had not noticed this last night because it had been too dark but now that he saw it in a new light his mind flooded with ideas of what could have caused this. He started sorting through his thoughts and finally he came up with a solution. He didn't want to say it but knew he had too, even if it would destroy everything he, and everyone else, had worked so hard to accomplish this last year.

"You're wrong" Ferb stated blankly

"What?" Isabella was shocked "How could I be wrong? Look the outline shows something was laying right here and someone must have moved it. Don't you see?" Isabella was a little upset he said she was wrong.

"You're wrong" Ferb said again. Isabella was now really upset

"THEN WHAT IS IT HUH? ENLIGHTEN US" Isabella didn't mean to scream but she was angry Ferb had thrown her idea away so quickly.

"It's wasn't an object lying here…it was a person" Ferb looked up to view Buford and Isabella's reactions

Buford had one eye open and was staring at Ferb to make sure he wasn't making a sick joke. When he saw Ferb was dead serious he got a worried look in his eyes.

Isabella on the other hand took a moment to figure out what Ferb meant. When she finally realized what he was saying her hands shot up to her mouth.

"You mean?" Isabella let Ferb finish

"Someone was transported here..." Ferb didn't say another word.

The children started exchanging glances.

"Ok don't panic. Let's just stay calm and talk this through" Ferb made his way over to the tree and sat down. Soon Isabella joined them and their heated discussion began.

(Across town)

Emerging from a store in downtown Danville, stood a man dressed in all black. Black shoes, black pants and a black shirt.

"Not my usual clothing option but it'll have to do for now"

Strapping on his eye patch he started walking. He knew exactly where he was going.

**(Author note)**

**It might take me awhile to get the next chapter up as I am having an inner conflict of how it should go down. I will not reveal anything but be prepared for surprises and more. **

**Thank you all. **

**3****rd****-Generation**


	14. Chapter 14

"Phineas can't be dead" Isabella was on the verge of tears

"Maybe he was the one who was laying their" Buford said trying to prevent Isabella from crying

"If it was Phineas then why would he not tell us?" Isabella was letting tears flow down her cheeks now.

Ferb was getting tired of this conversation. It had been going back and forth for over 20 minutes now. Isabella kept saying Doofenshmirtz had won; this was cause for her tears. Buford would give reasons why it might not have been Doofenshmirtz.

"If it was Doofenshmirtz then why haven't we heard anything? Wouldn't he want to torture us with his victory?" Buford now had the upper hand as he saw Isabella stem the flow of tears.

"But why would Phineas not tell us?" Isabella retorted

"Maybe he got amnesia" Buford was grasping at straws until he thought of something. "Why would Doofenshmirtz return to this place? Why not somewhere he could rebuild his army?" Buford crossed his arms to show he was standing tall

"He would come back here to torture us. If he appeared while we were here and we all saw him…that would be the worst torture" Isabella again on the verge of tears

"But…"Buford was cut off by Ferb

"Ok enough already" Ferb was now standing "The fact of the matter is we do not know who won. We don't know for a fact that either has won; what if this was created by someone else, someone just mastering time travel? It could be a coincidence that they ended up here we just don't know" Ferb had moved and was standing in front of the circle with his back to Buford and Isabella.

"Look I don't want to talk a lot longer so I am going to make this short. I want more than anything for Phineas to return but I will not fill myself with false hope that this is him. I don't want to see you two doing that either. Until there is definitive proof that he is back I am going to go about my day like any other day. I hope you two will do the same. Now we have a few hours until we have to get ready for the dance…who wants to go bowling?" Ferb looked back at his friends, who were now speechless with what he had said.

Buford was the first to regain composure and smiled.

"Let's do it" As he got up and walked up to Ferb, clapping Ferb on the shoulder he said "Thanks man"

The two stood their staring at Isabella awaiting her response. She was still sitting on the ground, tears at the edge of her eyes and her knees tucked up to her chin. It took a few minutes before she spoke.

"How?" Ferb and Buford just looked at her before she continued "How can you go about each day as if it was normal? How Ferb? You have constant nightmares about Phineas don't you?" She saw him giving her a quizzical look "I can hear you from my house. I think I'll stay right here today" She went back to hugging her knees.

Ferb and Buford looked at each other and knew they shouldn't push her. She was at the edge and was slowly falling. They both knew only one man could save her…unfortunately he wasn't here right now.

"Well if you change your mind we will be downtown until about 4" Ferb and Buford turned and exited the back gate leaving Isabella alone with her thoughts.

"How can they treat each day like he was never born? I can't believe them right now" Her thoughts eventually feel on the one person she missed more than anything and on the one question she kept asking herself.

"Should I move on? I love him more than anything and don't want to admit he might never return. What should I do?" Isabella was still hugging her knees to her chest when she swore she heard a voice

She shot up and started looking around. She frantically started listening for anything moving, speaking or breathing. She was getting dizzy from turning around so fast and finally froze in position.

Her mind was racing with her worst fears taking point.

Its Doofenshmirtz…he's come back to finish me…

Its Baljeet…he broke out of prison and is back to finish his revenge

Its Phineas…He's returned but now hates me

As these thoughts raced through her mind she could hardly hear. It took all her will power and she finally calmed down enough to start listening. The yard was dead silent as she stood in the middle with ears perked. Then she heard it.

"Join them"

She swore that's what she heard. The leaves were rustling and could have easily been mistaken for the voice. She wanted to believe that so much she almost gave herself a head ache.

She decided whether it was a voice or her imagination that she should take its advice.

With that she ran out the back gate attempting to catch up to Ferb and Buford. Something bugged her though. She couldn't put her finger on it but she swore she might have recognised that voice. She just couldn't pick out a match.

Casting the thought aside she worked on her current goal of catching up to her friends. She didn't look back.

(Back at the Flynn-Fletcher house)

As soon as Isabella ran out and the gate closed behind her a figure emerged.

"Good…I can't complete my return with them here to catch me"

He adjusted the black patch covering his eye and then went to work.

"This is going to be great"

(A few hours later)

"It's almost 4 Ferb" Buford called as he eyed the clock on the wall of the bowling ally

Ferb just gave him a thumbs up and threw his last ball. He got a strike.

"Wow Ferb five perfect games. You are amazing" Isabella announced, a little louder than Ferb wanted because now attention was being drawn to him.

"Glad you changed your mind" Buford playfully punched Isabella

"Yeah…well...a voice just told me to go with it" Isabella started to remember what she was thinking earlier. That voice was so familiar and yet it sounded like a stranger.

Again she let the thought drop from her mind as she, Ferb and Buford left the bowling ally

"Well I'll see you guys later" Buford started walking away

"You're not walking home with us?" Isabella asked

"No I got to go get a suit or something fancy for tonight" Buford said a little too happily for Ferb and Isabella's taste.

"You still don't have a suit?" Isabella was more shocked than anything

"Nope…see you guys" Buford left as Isabella and Ferb started walking home.

(2 blocks from Ferb and Isabella's)

"I still say you should not have made that shot blindfolded" Isabella laughed as she remembered Ferb scoring a strike while blindfolded

"It's impossible for anyone to make that shot" Isabella was still laughing

"The only thing that's impossible is impossibility" Ferb realized what he said and looked to Isabella who was only laughing harder. Ferb was a little uneasy but decided to let her do what she needed to do.

By this time the two kids were at Isabella's front door.

"Just a second Ferb I just need to check the mail" Isabella reached into the mailbox and started sifting through the letters, listing them off as she saw them.

"Mrs. Garcia Shapiro…Bill…Band contract…Food recipe…Isa…" She stopped as she found a letter addressed to her. She put the rest of the mail back and held in her hand an envelope. It was addressed to her but had no return address. It was odd because she never received mail unless it was her birthday.

"Well?" Ferb said encouraging her to open it

Isabella took the hint and quickly tore open the envelope. Inside was a single piece of paper with some writing on it. Isabella went to read it.

"What's it say?" Ferb asked with pure curiosity now. He got worried when he saw the look in Isabella's eyes.

"What's wrong?" Ferb now concerned just grabbed the note. When he read it he realized why she looked worried. It was a simple note and yet it had all the impact of a fifty page letter. The note read.

_I'M BACK_

(Flynn-Fletcher Back Yard)

Isabella, Ferb and a reluctant Buford were all in the back yard again. Surprisingly though none of them had a letter.

"What does this mean?" Isabella was frantic

What do you mean? It means he's back" Buford retorted. Again this was going on too long for Ferb and he put a stop to it.

"Ok stop…Let's calm down and think rationally" Ferb was glad to see everyone calm down enough that he could think about this rationally.

(Inside the house)

The phone began to ring and it would not stop. Candace had, had enough and had stormed into the kitchen.

"HELLO!" Candace basically screamed into the phone

"Easy…not so loud" The voice spoke

"What do you want? Who is this?" Candace was being weary

"A friend of Ferb's" The voice responded

Candace couldn't help but think that the voice was familiar…Like she should know who it was but couldn't place her finger on it.

"What do you want?" Candace spoke again

"Could you give him a message for me?" The voice started sounding anxious. This was a warning sign for Candace

"What kind of message?" Candace would listen to the message and decide if she should say anything.

"Just a simple message" The voice spoke

(Flynn-Fletcher backyard)

"It could be some prank" Buford suggested

"From who?" Isabella asked

"Well we figured out it could be Doofenshmirtz or Baljeet" They had decided Baljeet was a contestant because he had a reason to come back and torment them.

Well what about" Isabella was cut off

"FERB!" Candace stuck her head out the back door.

Ferb just looked at Candace and waited for her to continue

"I have a message for you" Candace spotted the group and walked up to them.

"A message? From who?" Ferb raised his eye brow

"Don't know all he said to tell you is "_I'll be seeing you soon"_ that's it" Candace then returned to the house

Isabella and Buford then noticed the concerned look on Ferb's face.

"Who will?" was all Ferb could say

Night came fast and before they knew it the three friends were being driven to the school dance. They wouldn't say it but each one was concerned about how the night's events would play out.

They knew tonight…He would return.

**(Author note)**

**Sorry this is all I had time for. I just couldn't leave you guys hanging, I guess in a way I still did. I just thought a new chapter would be alright for now while I finalize how to continue.**

**Also I am currently working on a new story and one request. So my time is divided but I will make this story my top priority. Do not fret as I shall complete this story soon. **

**Hope you all enjoy it so far and cannot wait to get the next chapter up. **


	15. Chapter 15

(Flynn-Fletcher backyard. One hour before the dance)

After Candace delivered the message the group was determined to figure out who was behind this. Most thought came back to the evil Doofenshmirtz because he was the only one who would play mind games like this. Ferb was the only one being optimistic and still thinking it could be Phineas.

When there was only half an hour before Isabella's mom would drive them to the dance Isabella took off to get ready. Buford had settled on black jeans and a shirt that was made to look like a tuxedo, so he hung out with Ferb for a little longer.

"So you really think dinner bell might be back?" Buford asked

"Like I said I will not fill myself with false hope but I will always hope for the best" Ferb saw the confused look in Buford's face.

"Anyway maybe we should look at all the evidence quickly and re-gather our thoughts" Ferb started to think while Buford named off the evidence.

"Well there's girly's note…your phone message…and that circle on your lawn" Buford didn't see Ferb shoot his head up.

Ferb just started looking around and could not believe they didn't realize it when they got back. Someone had cleaned up the circle that had been burned onto the lawn.

"Who cleaned it up?" Buford was now looking at Ferb with a look that said "continue"

"The burn mark in the grass…it's gone" Buford was now looking around trying to find it and quickly realized Ferb was right.

Ferb would not stop thinking about that the whole ride there

(Danville school dance)

As Ferb, Isabella and Buford walked in they realized that most of their friends had already arrived. The Fireside girls were the first to run up to the group and start talking.

The Fireside girls all had the same dress, except for Isabella; they wore a long Orange dress what was cut off about the knee for each of them. They also wore a brown scarf around their necks with buttons fastened to it as if they were patches they had earned. Each girl looked beautiful as they talked to Isabella.

Isabella on the other hand had decided on a long dark purple dress. It matched her eyes almost perfectly and stretched all the way to her ankles, leaving enough room so it wouldn't drag on the floor and so she could still move around freely. She had a pink bow still tied up in her hair and wore flat purple shoes. Ferb realized he was staring and turned away before anyone noticed. Gretchen then approached him.

"Hi Ferb…nice suit" She said eyeing his clothing choice.

Ferb had decided to bring back an old classic. His old style suit from when he and Phineas built the world's largest plane out of paper Mache and he did his inflight song. He was proud of his choice and he saw it really set him apart from the majority of the males there.

Buford was simple as he walked up beside Ferb in his black jeans and tuxedo T-shirt. He also set himself apart from everyone there…just in an entirely different way.

After a few words Gretchen returned to the group and they hauled Isabella away leaving Ferb and Buford standing around. They finally decided to go pick out a table to sit at, one that would hold everyone including the fireside girls. As Ferb made his way around the room he was pleasantly surprised at how simply the room was coordinated.

Against the East wall was the stage with the live band up playing many great hits. There was a large portion of space right up front that couples used to dance and surrounding the dance floor were all the tables. The smaller ones meant for couples was up front while the larger tables for groups was placed near the back. Ferb smirked as he saw a few tables up front mark "Reserved for" then the couple's names; he did notice one table was marked just "reserved" and had no names.

He just shrugged it off and soon he and Buford were settled down at a table. It didn't take long for Buford to go looking for some food, which was located at the very far left corner of the room. While Ferb waited for him to return he slowly pulled out a small device from his waist band. He looked down and studied it before quickly returning it to its spot. He was hoping he wouldn't have to use it.

"What's that?" Ferb jumped in his seat and turned around to face a very confused Buford.

"It's just a safety precaution" Ferb said as he turned away

"Safety eh? So you think that Doofenshmirtz might attack tonight?" Buford sat down with a sandwich and a glass of grape juice.

"I didn't say that…I am just making sure every possible outcome is covered tonight" Ferb turned back to Buford with a look in his eyes that said "Don't tell Isabella"

"Alright fine, what does it do?" Buford still saw the look in his eyes "Tell me what it does and I won't tell girly" Ferb just nodded.

"It's simple. This little device will basically use the natural conductivity in the air to form a sort of electrical field around a person. If Doofenshmirtz was to attack us and I trapped him inside he would be stuck in there until I pressed the release button" Ferb finished and saw that Buford had understood almost nothing…Ferb was fine with that.

Ferb quickly scanned the room and found the fireside girls on the edge of the dance floor seemingly attempting to get Isabella to dance with one of the guys that approached them. She however would turn each one down. A few of the fireside girls had accepted the proposal to dance and were having a fun time but Holly and Gretchen had never moved from Isabella's side. Obviously they were the two behind the push to get Isabella to start dancing, and potentially dating, other guys. Ferb had mixed emotion about this.

On one hand he wanted Isabella to be happy and knew she could find happiness with another guy and it might be for the best. On the other hand he knew how deeply she cared for Phineas and he didn't want to be the one to tell her to forget about him, because in all truth he had not given up on Phineas yet. He was torn between his emotions and couldn't do anything about it. Then he noticed the three girls walking towards the table.

"How did they find us so quickly?" Ferb asked aloud but soon realized Buford was practically on top of the table waving them over.

"Hey guys" Isabella said as she and the two other girls sat down at the table.

"Hey how'd it go?" Buford asked

"What do you mean?" Isabella looked up confused

"I mean…"

"He means excuse us for a minute while we grab some food for you fine ladies" Ferb cut Buford off and hauled him away from the table

"What are you doing?" Ferb demanded as they walked towards the food table

"What? What did I do?" Buford was lost as to what he did wrong

"Isabella turned down the other guys to dance. She is not ready to move on and you were about to ask her some questions that I believe would result in her crying" Ferb turned away and picked up speed

"What? Look I'm sorry I didn't mean to do anything like that" Buford caught up to Ferb

"Just try to be more subtle about the whole thing please" after a quick nod by Buford they went about gathering some food to bring back to the table.

(At the table)

Ferb had just hauled Buford off and the three girls could hear him mumbling something to Buford. That was old news though and soon the girls were all talking amongst themselves.

"So Isabella, why did you turn down every guy? They were all cute and wanted to dance with you" Holly started

"You know that answer" Isabella responded

"You need to move on chief. I bet Phineas has moved on and is with other girls every day" Gretchen spoke

"Maybe not because he is oblivious half the time but he must have moved on" Holly quickly added onto Gretchen's sentence.

"He has not moved on…How could you even think that?" Isabella started looked at the two. She obviously was angry and she was waiting for a response. Holly and Gretchen recognized the look they were getting as a look that said "Your next sentence better be good or you're in trouble"

Finally Gretchen spoke

"If he hadn't moved on then explain this. Why hasn't he sent you any letters, or texted you or even called you for that matter? If he was still in love with you why has he not contacted you in over a year and a half? Face it Isabella Phineas has moved on and he probably won't be coming back" Gretchen actually hated herself for saying that, even though she believed it to be true, because she saw the tears in Isabella's eyes after that.

"I'm…I'm sorry Isabella but it had to be said" Gretchen got up and walked away

Holly was concerned for Isabella and so tried to stay and comfort her. She put her arm around her but was immediately shrugged off.

"Isa"

"Go away" Isabella said quickly to keep her from talking

"But I wanted"

"Just go" Isabella turned away from her and was happy when she heard the chair scoot backwards and footsteps leading away from the table.

A few minutes passed before Isabella was startled by a voice

"Where'd everyone go?" Ferb was back with Buford and a bunch of food.

"They…went back to dance" Isabella took a sandwich and started eating.

"They left you alone?" Ferb asked as he set the rest of the food down and took his seat.

"I asked them too. They were getting annoying. Like a broken record" Isabella smiled

Ferb didn't respond because he knew what she was talking about.

It took a while but Buford finally broke the silence with a quick suggestion that they all go dance as a group. It was agreed upon by all and soon they were all in a small group just dancing around having fun.

Isabella was concentrating so much on her dance moves she didn't even realize someone has snuck up behind her until she looked up. She saw Ferb's eyes staring right past her and when she turned around she almost screamed. Alex had snuck up behind her and had his trademark smile on his face. He was wearing a classic black tuxedo with black tie and matching pants and shoes. He extended his hand

"Isabella…Would you care to dance?" Alex offered

Isabella just looked back at Ferb and Buford and saw they were waiting for her to respond as well. She realized they were going to offer no help and knew this decision was on her. Slowly and calmly she put her hand in his and was led off to an open area of the floor.

She didn't know what she was doing but saw Buford continue to dance a crazy sort of dance no one had ever seen before. As for Ferb he had slinked back to the edge of the dance floor and was now just watching. Then Alex made his move.

He raised his hand and the music suddenly switched to a slow song. Isabella realized that this was probably the work of her troop but decided to just get the song over with. That was her thought until she realized what the other couples were doing.

The girls all had their heads resting on the boys shoulders and the males had their hands around the girl's waists. She decided the faster she got this done the better. Isabella rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck while he moved his hands around her waist. She noticed he has his hands a little too close to her butt for her comfort so she quickly raised them up her back by removing her hands and forcing his higher. This would be alright for now.

The song went on for a lot longer than Isabella thought it would and she was getting uncomfortable again but the song soon ended. She tried to break free but Alex held on to her with a tight grip.

"Hey let me go" Isabella was pushing against him

"Just one more dance. I'll let you go after that I promise" Isabella looked over at Ferb and saw him ready to intervene but she decided to give him one last dance and waved him off. One dance and then she would be finished with Alex.

To her shock the next song had been by Love Handle and was one of her favorites. The song was "Snuck your way right into my heart" She didn't know if this was another ploy but she didn't care. All Isabella wanted to do was listen to the song.

Just as Isabella rested her head on his shoulder again she started imagining it was Phineas with her and she started to zone out of reality. She was almost lost in a dream when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She pretended to not feel anything because she didn't want to leave her perfect dream but then she was tapped again; this time with force.

Isabella reluctantly opened her eyes and looked to Ferb. She was going to beg him to get rid of whoever it was.

"Can I cut in?" The voice came behind her

Isabella recognized the voice but couldn't remember from where. It was deep and not something she was used too, and yet she recognized it. Then she found Ferb.

His eyes were wide with complete shock on his face, Isabella's eyes went wide. Isabella knew then exactly who was behind her. She slowly broke apart from Alex and was now standing with her back to the man behind her.

"So…you really are back" Isabella turned around.


	16. Chapter 16

Isabella spun around and stood face to face with an older looking gentleman. Obviously aged by battle and forced to mature beyond anyone their age. He had a few scars on his face but her eyes kept getting drawn to the black eye patch he wore. He stared down at her with his one good eye before asking.

"Can I have this dance?" Isabella smiled at this

"Of course, Phineas" She didn't even attempt to be formal as she basically jumped into his arms just happy to be holding him again.

He had expected such a reaction and caught her in midair and spun in a circle. He set her down and placed his hands on her waist as hers entwined behind his head. She laid her forehead against his as they closed their eyes and just danced to the song.

"You planned this didn't you?" Isabella spoke softly trying not to ruin the moment.

"Every last detail" Phineas smiled as she caught on

"This song, my note, the message left for Ferb and this dance" Isabella still had one concern

"Mes…?" Isabella cut him off with a soft voice

"What happened to your eye?" Isabella had opened her eyes and was now looking into his one good eye

Phineas just smiled and lightly chuckled at her question. To be honest he expected her to ask if he actually killed Doofenshmirtz or why he hadn't contacted her since he returned but he was content on answering her none the less.

"A little mishap happened. I head butted a guy and his chin struck my eye with a good deal of force. I have to wear this patch until the doctors can check it out further" Phineas still had a smile on his face even as he remembered what had occurred

"So besides Ferb and me…who else knows you're back?" Isabella was still looking at him

"My god you're beautiful...I mean you are even more beautiful than I remember" Phineas was just noticing her beauty. Up until this moment he had been too concerned on making timing everything and hadn't paid much attention to anything else.

"Thanks…You clean up pretty good yourself" Isabella laughed at the marvel of how mature he looked.

After a few laughs they continued to dance to the music, never letting their eyes leave the others. Her purple eyes staring back at his mature, sensitive eye. His eye staring back into the Purple marvel that was Isabella and the love in her eyes. They knew, just by the look in their eyes, just how much they missed each other.

They were so transfixed on each other that they didn't stop dancing even when the music stopped and pretty soon they had drawn attention from those around them. They could hear the whispers as the kids tried to figure out who Isabella was dancing with but they just shrugged them off. They were having too much of a good time to worry about revealing that Phineas was back. Pretty soon the band started up again and this time it was a fast song; Phineas and Isabella decided to retire back to the table at that time.

Ferb met them there, along with Buford.

"Dinner bell?" Buford was looking him over carefully. To him this was a stranger who looked a little like Phineas but he was still cautious.

"Hey Buford, how's it going?" Phineas just replied as if nothing had changed in the last year and a half. Buford just kept looking him over.

"Hey Ferb, How are you?" Phineas turned his attention to his brother who had yet to speak a word

Ferb didn't speak; he couldn't find the words to describe how he felt right then. He settled for giving Phineas a thumb up. Phineas smiled as he finally took his seat beside Isabella. But before anyone could say another word Buford decided to ask the question that was on every one's mind.

"Did you kill him?" Buford didn't even register the horrendous glare he received from Ferb and more so from Isabella he just wanted an answer.

Phineas's smile disappeared at this and he turned his attention to the table cloth. He brought his hands up and placed them softly on the table. Despite the noise being made by the band and the countless groups talking, the only sound heard by Ferb, Buford, Isabella and especially Phineas was silence.

"I…couldn't" Phineas finally admitted as he kept staring at the table.

"Well then how did you get back?" Buford again shrugged the glares off

Phineas went silent again. Why did Buford have to bring up this now of all times? Couldn't he wait till tomorrow when they would be in the back yard and alone? All of a sudden Phineas felt his hands heat up.

When Phineas returned to reality he found Isabella's hands over his.

"It's ok Phineas…we won't think any differently about you" Her smile proved to him she was being truthful

"I didn't kill him…He dragged me off a cliff and I broke free of his hold. We fell straight down and all it would take was a fraction of a second to determine a winner" Phineas shuddered a little as he remembered everything but his thoughts were calmed as Isabella squeezed his hands and urged him to continue when he was ready.

"We fell about fifty feet and in those last few seconds I finally registered that I might actually die. With my last breath I let out a terrified scream and then I heard it" Ferb, Buford and Isabella all leaned in to listen to the rest "I heard a loud snap and the next thing I knew I was waking up in our back yard. At first I was over joyed that I was the winner. I didn't even consider the fact Doofenshmirtz was dead, until I remembered the snap. I realized then that it must have been his neck or spine snapping. I was horrified that I was happy that he was dead…what kind of monster am I that I actually celebrated a death" Phineas stopped talking as he tried to regain his composure.

"You're not a monster…you're a victim of circumstance" Isabella tried to comfort him and to her joy he smiled up at her.

"I think this should wait for another time" Ferb finally spoke and was greeted with shock and agreement from the group; reluctant to agree was Buford as he wanted to hear more but decided it might be best to not push his luck.

The next hour was spent just chatting and catching up, mainly for Phineas since he was gone. He was briefed on the lie that he was transferred to somewhere far away and that was the story everyone believed. As he was asking questions about the details of the story Phineas was cut off by a high pitched squeal.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEE!" Isabella, Ferb and Buford quickly looked around for the source of the noise. Phineas was so shocked he barely moved.

It took all of two seconds to find the fireside girls about ten feet from Isabella, Gretchen obviously the one to release the high pitched sound that caught the attention of most of the room. The room soon settled back into its vibe and the only ones still watching the table were the fireside girls. It was an awkward silence until Adyson spoke up.

"So Isabella I see you finally decided on a new boy…who is it? Alex?" All the girls were waiting patiently to see who it was

"Sorry to disappoint" Phineas smiled with his back still to the girls

"That voice…sounds familiar" Holly stated as she tried to figure out who it was

"That's not Alex" Adyson stated quite obviously

"Nope…just me" Phineas turned around and face the girls.

It took a few seconds; Adyson was the first to recognise him.

"PHINEAS!?" Adyson screamed as her expression was replaced by pure shock, the other girls soon followed with their own expressions of shock as they realized Adyson had called it.

"Yeah I'm back" Ferb then remembered "Who is Alex?" Phineas asked coyly and saw Isabella smile at this

"He's ummm he's a….nobody" Gretchen spoke up and felt so dumb about her actions the past while she lost all ability to talk.

"Well why don't you girls join us for now and we can all catch up" Phineas smiled to the group and offered them to join the table.

"We would love to…but we have to get going…we will see you tomorrow" The group made a hasty retreat as they didn't want any more embarrassment on them for the night. Everyone laughed as the girls left and knew how they felt.

"That was fun haha I missed them" Phineas was finally settling down. Now it was Ferb's turn to talk.

"So you sent Isabella that note?" Ferb looked at him obviously happy he was back

"Of course. I wanted her to guess who had come back for her" Phineas smiled as he realized their hands were still in a small ball on the table.

"And that message for me was my clue but why didn't you send Buford a message?" Ferb was genuinely confused about that

"Message? I never left you a message" Phineas looked shocked at this

"What?" Isabella looked at him

"I didn't I swear. All I did was send a note to Isabella" Phineas looked at the group. It didn't take long for them to realize he was telling the truth.

"What did it say?" Phineas was now curious

"It said _I'll see you soon_" Isabella explained

"Who?" Phineas said aloud as the group now pondered who would have cause to send the note.

**(Author note)**

**Well now this was supposed to be the end but I got a reply that made me reconsider. This story will continue, but not for a while. I have 1 story and 2 requests to do first. They will be my new priority at the moment but when I am done I will focus on continuing this story.**

**If you have any requests or ideas for the continuation of this story then please let me know. Also add me as a favorite author so when I start posting my stories you will know. **

**Thanks for reading and I hope you are enjoying this story so far. I am apologising in advance because if you want to know what happens next it will take a while. Sorry.**

**Hope you enjoyed and can't wait to hear what you have to say. Have a great day and enjoy my other stories. **

**3****rd****-Generation**


	17. NOTICE OF STORY UPDATECHANGE

**(Author Update)**

**Thank you all who have been waiting patiently. I have begun the next part of my story that will take place after the events of this one.**

**However I will no longer be posting under Doofenshmirtz Round 2 but under the new story title "The Return" I hope to have the first chapter up by the end of the week. So if I am not already on your author alert subscription please keep an eye out. **

**The Return will take off where "Doofenshmirtz Round 2" left off. **

**Again thank you all for your patience. **


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